The Luxury Of Knowing
by Loving.And.Awkward
Summary: Peeta and Katniss are married with two children. Hope and Hunter. They have kept their past from them all this time, not telling them anything. But all that changes one day when Hope comes across a box of 75 tapes. Follow Hope, Hunter, Finnick and Tessa, as they watch the tapes and find out the secrets their parents have been keeping from them all this time.
1. Prologue I

You know what the one thing I hate the most is?

Secrets.

Nothing good ever comes from keeping secrets.

Something bad always happens and someone always ends up getting hurt.

I grew up thinking that, the worst thing you could do is keep a secret from someone. Even if it is out of love or so you could protect them.

That person you keep a secret from, has the right to know.

But now, as I'm sitting in front of this screen, watching as all their secrets unfold in front of me, in front of us, without them knowing, I can only think of one thing.

This is one secret that I'm starting to wish I never knew.

**The Luxury Of Knowing  
Chapter One, coming September 7th, 2012.**


	2. Rubik's Cube

_Rubik's Cube - Athlete.  
_

_"I thought about how there are two types of secrets: the kind you want to keep in, and the kind you don't dare to let out." - Ally Carter._

* * *

Sweat.

That was all she could feel right now.

Sweat running down her back, making the tight tank-top that she wore stick to her. Sweat was all over her arms, her legs and her chest as it heaved in and out because of her heavy breathing. Sweat poured off her forehead as she narrowed her eyes, looking straight ahead as she pushed herself to keep going.

No matter how many times she ran this trail, it seemed to never get any easier, and the heavy morning summer sun that beat down on her wasn't helping any.

_Only a few more miles._ That was the only thought that was running though her head.

She had just came out of the woods part of the trail and she found herself at the end of town.

She pushed herself even harder as she saw the black dot, that was her home, come into view.

Looking straight ahead, she just let her feet carry her in the path that she knew all to well.

She turned right, not really in the mood to head to the beach that she would find if she kept going straight, and thats when she saw it. Her home. Just coming in full view

Maybe she would finally make it the whole way without being stopped. People seemed to like doing that when she was on her morning run's. They would stop her, ask her about her mother, or how her fathers work was going, if her brother was doing fine. It's not that she minded talking to people, it just she didn't want to talk to anyone on her run.

_Almost there_. She thought as her house got closer and closer.

Then, out of no where, a tall figure jumped in front of her, making her bang into whatever it was, and fall down on the ground.

The figure looked down at her, meeting her blue eyes, and laughed.

"Finn!"

"Hey Hope." The figure, Finn, smirked, reaching out a hand to help her up.

"What are you doing?" Hope glared, not taking his hand and just getting up on her own. "I finally almost made it home without being stopped!"

"Exactly. You think I would let that happened." Finnick smirked.

"Not funny." Hope walked pasted him.

"Come on Hope. I was just playing." Finnick said, walking a few steps behind her.

Hope just turned around a glared at him.

"Fine." Finnick sighed, before giving a small bow. "I am so sorry my lady. Would you ever forgive me?"

Hope tried to keep glaring at him, but a smile started to form on her lips. "Maybe."

Giving her a charming smile, Finnick walked up beside her and the two started to walk home.

"So, besides your um.. little fall... how was you run?"

Hope shrugged. "Alright."

"You know, if you don't want to run, why do you do it?"

"I don't know. Why do you go swimming pretty much every morning?"

"Because I feel like I need to." Finnick told her. "That. And I like swimming."

"Well then, I just feel like I need to go running." Hope said.

Finnick starred at her for a few moments before speaking with a smirk on his face.

"Haymitch is picking on you again, isn't he?"

"Yes!" Hope sigh, throwing her arms in the air. "He keeps saying that I'm getting fat and I'm not fit enough and if I was put in a life or death situation, I would never make it out!"

Finnick just burst out laughing at this.

"What's so funny?" Hope asked angrily.

"Nothing," Finnick said, calming down a bit. "Just the fact that Haymitch can make you think you are getting fat. I mean, you're like a tooth pick Hope. If anything, you should eat more junk food."

Hope just rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

The pair started walking the rest of the way to the house in silence.

As they walked past the sign that told them they had just entered the Victors Village, Finnick turned to Hope, with his eyebrow raised.

"What's going on in that head of yours?"

Hope looked at Finnick and gave him a questioning look.

"What do you mean?"

"Hope. I know you," Finnick started. "Your eyes are narrowed and you have a look of... lets say... determination on your face. It's almost like you are planning a war or something."

Hope didn't answer him right away. She was debating if she should tell him what was really going on in her head, or not.

Then again, there was only a handful of people she could trust and who would know how she felt.

Plus, it was way easier to bring up the topic to him, Tessa and even her brother, Hunter, then it was to ask her parents about it. Her mom would, more or less, try to hold back tears and leave the room, while her dad would tell her she wasn't 'old enough' or he they would 'talk about it later', and then follow her mother.

"Why is this place called the Victors Village, Finnick?" Hope finally asked him.

Finnick looked at her, confused.

"Because the sign we just walked pasted says so?"

"That's not what I mean," Hope sighed. "I mean, why. As in, why would someone call this the 'Victors Village'? Why does every District have one?"

"Hope.." Finnick started, seeing what she was getting at.

But Hope either didn't hear him, or just wasn't listening.

"Why is there like, a handful of people that live here? Why is it that-"

"Hope Ember. Stop." Finnick grabbed her arm, pulling her to a stop a nice few feet from the front of her house.

"What Finn?" Hope said, looking him in the eyes. "I'm sick of not knowing! I'm sick of being told that I'm not old enough to know these things. I'm sixteen years old, and I'm not getting any younger!"

Finnick stood there, studying her for a few moments, before opening his mouth.

"This isn't just about the name of this place, is it?"

"No." said Hope, looking down.

"Hope," Finnick said in a calm voice, that made her slowly left up her head. "What is this all about?"

"Well..." Hope turned and slowly started to walk back to the house, Finnick right behind her.

"Hope..."

"You know how mom said to never go though her closet without her there or knowing?"

"Yes?" Finnick starred at Hope for a few seconds, before catching on.

"Hope. You went though your parents closet, didn't you?"

"I didn't go in there to look for whatever they don't want us to find," Hope told him, turning around. "I was just looking for some new arrows cause I believe my brother and best friend decided to be 5 years old again and play with mine, and then break them."

Finnick gave Hope, who was giving him a glare, a small smile.

"Yeah. Sorry about that."

Hope just rolled her eyes.

"Anyways," she continued. "As I was looking though the closet, I found this big box in the back. There was nothing written on it. So, I just.. opened it."

"No. You opened it because you are to curious for your own good." Finnick corrected her.

"Listen. If you are just going to make fun of me, then I will go and talk about this with Tessa." Hope glared at him, with her hands on her hips.

"No. I'm sorry. I'll listen now."

Hope glared at him for a few more seconds before speaking again.

"Anyways, I opened the box and inside I found all this odd stuff."

"What do you mean by 'odd stuff'?" Finnick asked.

Hope shrugged. "I don't know. Like, a pin, drawings, an outfit. Just all this random stuff."

"Alright. But, I still don't see what the big deal-"

"Oh! And tapes. There were a whole lot of tapes in the box."

Finnick raised an eyebrow. "Tapes? Like, recording tapes? Tapes with movies on them?"

Hope nodded her head. "Yeah. There was like, 70 or so in there and they each had something written on them."

"Like what?"

Hope was about to answer him, but then they heard a voice calling out to them.

"There you are! Would you to slow pokes hurry up!"

They both turned they heads in the direction of Hope's house and saw Tessa in the door way.

"Yeah. We'll be there in one minute Tess!" Hope called back.

"Fine. But just to let you know, your brother is making chocolate chip muffins!" Tessa told them, and Hope could just hear the smirk in her voice. She knew that Finnick loved Hunter's chocolate chip muffins.

When she saw Tessa go back into the house, Hope turned to look at Finnick and she saw that his eyes were lite up and he was all but bouncing in his spot.

Sighing, Hope told him,

"I'll tell you about the tapes later. Besides, that way I can tell you, Tessa and Hunter about them at the same time."

"Alright!" Finnick's smile grew bigger, if that was possible, then he turned and started running to the house.

"What are you? Eight?" Hope yelled after him.

"Nope. Eighteen actually."

Hope just shook her head and followed Finnick up the path and into the house, leaving all their thoughts and questions about the Victors Village behind for a few more hours.

* * *

**Hope you guys enjoyed Chapter One!**

**Thanks to egoats and AbbeyMellarkAlways for reviewing and to whoever added this story to their Favs/Follows.  
**

**Whoever reviews will get a sneak peek of next Chapter! xox**

**P.S. I will be updating every Friday as of now. That may chance later on because I will start having skating on Friday's (Monday's and Tuesday's also) in October. So, I have to see how late I'm going to be at the stadium. But, as of now, updates will be on Friday's, unless something comes up!**


	3. Always Love

_Always Love - Nada Surf._

"_A good friend keeps your secrets for you. A best friend helps you keep your own secrets." - Lauren Oliver._

* * *

The second Hope walked though the front door, the smell of freshly baked chocolate chip muffins hit her nose.

She sniffed the air and a smile came on her face. She didn't get as excited as Finnick when her brother baked his muffins, but she still loved it when he did.

As Hope kicked off her running shoes, she noticed how tired her feet really were, and the only thing she wanted to do now was sit down, and eat a muffin.

Hope started to make her way into the kitchen and when she got there, she saw Hunter just taking the muffins out of the oven. She also saw a very impatient looking Finnick sitting on one of the three bar stools, with an amused looking Tessa right next to him.

"What's your problem?" Hope asked Finnick as she hopped up on the only available stool left.

Finnick just huffed and starred straight ahead, eyes narrowed on the muffins in Hunter's hands.

"Apparently," Tessa said, deciding to answer Hope, with the amused look still on her face. "Hunter isn't making the muffins fast enough."

"Seriously Finn." Hope raised an eyebrow at him. "You're eighteen years old. You can wait for the muffins to at least bake all the way, can't you?"

"Easy for you to say." Finnick snapped. "You _live_ with Hunter. You can have his muffins whenever you want. I live all the way in Distract 4. I can only get them when I come to visit!"

Hope rolled her eyes at Finnick, while Tessa started to laugh.

Turning to her brother, Hope noticed that he had already made a dozen muffins that were sitting on the counter off to the side.

"Hunt, why did you make 24 muffins and not just 12?" Hope asked, then added with a smirk on her face. "Are you trying to make Finn fat."

Hunter, who was standing in front of them placing the muffins on a plate so they could cool down, looked up at his sister.

"Because-"

"Nice one talking." Finnick cut him off. "Why don't you go for another run. After all, Haymitch did say you would never make it out of a live or death situation."

Hope glared at Finnick, who was giving her a smirk.

Then, all of a sudden, Finnick's eyes went wide and a big smile came on his face.

"Wait!" He said before turning to Hunter. "Are you telling me that you made an extra 12 muffins. Just for me!"

Now it was Tessa who rolled her eyes. "Shut up Finn. He didn't make extra muffins for you."

"I made them," Hunter started again, glaring a bit at Finnick for cutting him off. "For Mom, Dad, Aunt Annie, Aunt Jo and Uncle James."

Finnick, along with Hope, looked at Hunter confused. "Why?"

"Because they are, apparently, heading out for the day."

"Heading out?" Hope repeated. "Heading out where?"

"You get your curiosity from your mother, you know that?"

Everyone turned to the left and Hope saw her father standing at the bottom of the stairs.

"Well, it's not bad to want to know somethings." Hope suddenly felt pain of her shin. "Ow! What was that for?"

Hope turned to her right and saw Finnick, who kicked her, glaring at her.

He know the double meaning behind her words.

Peeta just chuckled. If he catch the double meaning behind her words, he didn't show it.

"Me, your mother, Annie, Johanna and James are heading to the beach for the day."

Hope raised her eyebrow at him. "Really. The beach?"

"What's wrong with the beach?" Finnick asked her.

"Yes, the beach." Peeta smiled. He walked over to the closet, pulling out a picnic basket. He then went over to the fridge and started packing all the pre-made food and drinks. "We would like to have some time together without you kids."

"Geez, we feel loved." Tessa mumbled.

"What are you mumbling about know young lady?"

The kids turned around and saw Annie, Johanna and James standing behind them.

"Nothing daddy." Tessa smiled sweetly at James.

Hope, Hunter and Finnick rolled their eyes at her and mumbled "Yeah right".

Tessa turned and glared at her friends.

"So, when are you guys leaving?" Hunter asked as he packed up 12 muffins for the parents.

"Whatever your mother comes down."

"Seriously? We are actually waiting on Katniss?" Johanna asked in disbelief.

Peeta nodded his head as he sat the basket, full of food, down on the table.

"Why do you say it like that?" Hope asked her Aunt Jo.

"Let's just say," Johanna started. "Your mother isn't the most _fashionable_ person in the world. She normally had... someone helping her."

The kids looked at Johanna, confused, while the Peeta and James shoot Johanna a '_Stop talking' _look.

Annie rolled her eyes, but had a smile on her face. Then she turned to Peeta.

"What's taking her so long?"

"She said she needed to get something from the closet."

Hope's eyes widen and all she did was pray that her mother didn't noticed that the box was missing, seen as she moved it to her room after she found it.

"Hope!" Her mother's voice came traveling downstairs.

_Crap._

"Hope. Were you in the closet?" Katniss, who was now down the stairs and walking towards them, asked.

Hope could feel all eyes on her as she answered. They all knew never to go in the closet.

"Umm. Well... How do you know it was me and not Hunter?" She heard a huff next to her and turned to see Tessa and Finnick giving her a look that said '_Are you serious?_'

Hope just gave a little shrug before turning to her mother.

Katniss raised her eyebrow at her daughter, before looking at Hunter.

"Hunter, were you in the closet?"

Hunter just shook his head. "No."

Katniss then turned back to her daughter.

"Well. How do you know he isn't lying to you?"

"Because," Katniss said. "Your brother won't go into the closet to get arrows."

Hope suddenly looked up at her mother. So this wasn't about the box! Deciding to just tell her mother the _half _truth, Hope answered.

"Yes. I was in the closet."

"Why?" Katniss answered, narrowing her eyes, and Hope knew that she was asking why she took the arrows.

"Because. My lovely brother and fish man here, decided that they would like to be 5 again and that my arrows would make good swords. And I wanted to go hunting the other day. So, I went in the closet and.. took some." Hope told her, looking down at the end.

Katniss sighed, and Hope wasn't sure if it was a sigh to calm her down, or of relief.

"Hope," Katniss started. "Next time you want some arrows, or anything, just ask. And please, don't go in the closet without asking."

It was at this point that Hope really wanted to ask her mother what was so important that they couldn't go in the closet and whatever it was, they were all old enough to handle it.

But then again, Hope remember that she had that box in her room under her bed. And the sooner the parents were out of the house, the sooner she could tell Hunter, Finnick and Tessa and they could figure out whatever they were going to do with it.

Hope could feel everyone looking at her and knew that they were waiting for her to argue with her mother or say something back to her.

She just sighed and said a simple,

"Alright."

Katniss, Peeta and everyone else, Teens and Adults, looked taken back that Hope didn't argue with her mother. Not that Hope argue with Katniss a lot. They just did whenever it came to the closet and, as the teens had named it, _The Topic,_ with is basically anything about the past.

Peeta was the first to recover.

"Alright. Well, we better get going if we are going to spend the afternoon at the beach."

This seemed to get everyone's attention, though the kids still looked a bit confused. Well, besides Finnick.

"You kids better behave while we're gone." Annie said as she stepped forward and gave Finnick a quick hug.

Finnick rolled his eyes, but smiled at his mother. "Yes mom."

"Don't worry Aunt Annie," Tessa smirked as she pulled out of the hug with her father, James. "We'll make sure Finnick is feed and put down for his nap."

"Ha. Funny." Finnick glared at her. "I'm the oldest one out of all of you."

"Well you sure don't act like it, _fish boy_." Tessa shoot back.

"That goes for you too miss." Johanna told her daughter as she to gave her a hug. "I don't want any holes in this house when I get back."

"That was one time." Tessa mumbled.

"She's your daughter Johanna." Katniss said, pulling out of a hug with Hunter. "You be good, okay?" Katniss said to her son.

"Yes mom. I will." Hunter nodded.

"And watch the other three." Peeta added as he gave Hunter a hug and Katniss moved to Hope.

"Hey! We don't need babysitting!" Finnick said.

"And besides, he is the youngest out of all of us." Tessa added.

"Right." James said. "Maybe we should get Haymitch to come over."

"No!" Hope, Hunter, Tessa and Finnick yelled.

"What's with the long good-bye and all the rules anyways?" Hunter asked. "You said you were only going for the afternoon."

"We are." Peeta told him. "But, if we just get up and leave, then come back to the house in flames, you kids will pull the _'You didn't say we couldn't_' card."

"Darn. They're catching on." Finnick mumbled.

"Hope," Katniss said to her daughter as she looked down at her. "Behave okay? And don't do anything you're not suppose to."

Hope sighed, but again, didn't argue. "Alright Mom."

Katniss gave her a smile, before walking over to where Annie, James and Johanna were waiting by the back door.

Peeta picked up the basket and started to come his way to the door too, but stopped in front of Hope.

"Listen to your mother, okay?"

Hope gave her father a smile. "Yes Daddy."

Peeta gave Hope one more hug and a kiss on the head, then made his way over to the adults.

"Well, let's go."

The four made there way out the door.

When the door was closed behind them and they were making their way to the beach, Katniss looked at Johanna and seen a smirk on her face.

"What?"

"She's your daughter Katniss." Johanna said, repeating Katniss' words.

"I know," Katniss sighed, then grabbed Peeta's hand. "That's what I'm afraid of."

* * *

**There's Chapter Two.**

**Thanks to Mira SeverusSirius Black-Snape, aruano and ****AbbeyMellarkAlways**** (even though you had to PM me, haha) for reviewing!**

******I'm not planning on doing author notes at the end of each chapter, but I would like to say a few things.**

**First, I am so happy so many people are liking this story and added it to their Favs/Follows. But, could I please get a few more reviews? It would mean the world to me! Don't worry, I'm not going to say "10 more reviews and then I'll update". I'll still update every Friday (As of now! May change because of Skating!). It would just be nice to get a few more reviews.**

**Also, I will do the "You review, I give you a sneak peek" think for every review and every chapter. If you don't want a sneak peek but still want to review, still let me know in your review! Thanks! xox.**


	4. It's Time

_It's Time - Imagine Dragons._

"_If you want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself." - George Orwell._

* * *

The second the door closed behind the adults, the sweet smile that was on Hope's face fell.

_Great. _Hope thought_. I just lied to both my parents._

Lying. That was something Hope hated almost as much as secrets. Because, when you think about it, lying and secrets come hand in hand. If you have a secret, you are lying to keep it. If you are lying, then you have a secret.

There was nothing that Peeta and Katniss didn't know about their daughter. Sure, there was the cute boy Hope had a crush on at the age of 14. Or that, even if she denied it, Hope kept a Journal and she wrote in it every night. But those where things that even girl kept to themselves.

Hope never lied. Or kept secrets.

Until now.

Not until did she lie to her mother about going into the closet, which really was only a half lie, she _took_ the box out of the closet.

Then, she had to tell her mother that she would behave and stay out of trouble. And then look her own father in the eyes and tell him she would listen to her mother.

Hope was about to do a number of things she hated to do.

Lie. Keep a secret. Break a promise.

Sighing, Hope turned around and saw Hunter and Tessa give her a raised eyebrow and Finnick, who was leaning against the counter, had his arms crossed and a smirk on his face.

"What was that about?" Tessa asked, breaking the silence.

"Huh?"

"With your mother."

Hope was just getting more confused every second.

"I don't"

"You didn't argue with mom when she brought up the closet." Hunter explain. "That's not like you. You would usually start asking a boat load of questions."

"Oh. That." In all honesty, Hope forgot all about that.

"I can answer that." Finnick said, stepping in. "It is true. Hope here did go into the closet. But, she found much more than just arrows. She found this magically, mysterious..."

"I went in the closet to get arrows but I also found this box full of stuff." Hope told them, cutting Finnick off.

"I was in the middle of telling them that." Finnick glared at her.

Hope rolled her eyes. "Yes. But I knew that you were running out of M words."

Finnick opened his mouth to say something, but Tessa beat him to it.

"Before you two go at each others throats, what kind of stuff was in the box?"

"I'll show you." Hope said, then started to make her way to the stairs.

"Hope. I wouldn't go back in the closet if I were you." Hunter stopped her.

"I won't be going back in the closet little brother." Hope told him, rolling her eyes.

"What do you mean?

Hope gave Hunter a knowing look and waited a few minutes until Hunter's eyes went wide.

"Hope! You took the box out of the closet!"

"Calm down Hunter." Tessa said to him as she jumped up on a bar stool, smacking Finnick's hand away from the muffin that he was reaching for. "It's not like Aunt Katniss noticed that the box was gone. She would have said something about it. Oh, would you quite pouting!"

When Hunter and Hope looked, Finnick was sitting on the other bar stool, pouting at Tessa for smacking his hand.

"I just want a muffin."

"You get a muffin _after_ Hope shows us the box." Tessa rolled her eyes.

Finnick's head snapped in Hope's direction. "Go get the box!"

Hope narrowed her eyes at Finnick before turning around and slowly made her way upstairs to her bedroom, knowing it was bugging him.

She knew she was right when she heard Tessa snap and yell at Finnick to stop bouncing his knee.

Smirking, Hope ran the rest of the way to her room.

She quickly opened her door and run over to her bed.

Lying down on her stomach, Hope reached under the bed and grabbed the box before getting back up and making her way downstairs.

"Here it is." Hope said as she walked down the stairs and over to the table, setting the box down.

Finnick, Hunter and Tessa went over to the table and stood around the box.

"Why is there tape keeping it closed?" Finnick randomly asked.

Hope, Hunter and Tessa gave him an odd look.

"What? Hope said that she opened the box and looked inside. I was just wondering way she tapped it back up."

"Oh, that." Hope said, realizing what he was getting at. "It was if mom or dad did find out about the box. If it was tapped up, then they would think I didn't look in it."

"You know. You're not as dumb as you think Mellark." Tessa smirked.

"Why thank you Foss." Hope winked at her before turning to the box and ripping the tape off the top.

Pulling the two flips open, the teens leaned forward, looked into the box and started to pull stuff out.

"You were right. These are random things to find together." Tessa said as she examined a beautiful, shinning pearl in her hand.

"Tell me about it," Finnick sighed as he held up a small metal pipe. "I mean, what is this thing."

"That's a spile Finn," Tessa explained, placing down the pearl and taking the metal pipe from him.

"A what?"

"It's like a tap. You use it to get sap out of trees."

"This most of been dad's." Hunter said to them.

Hope, Finnick and Tessa looked over to see that Hunter was holding a stretch book.

"They have wired drawings in them though." He added.

"What do you mean?" Hope asked her brother.

To show them what he meant, Hunter turned around the book to show them a picture that only Peeta could draw.

But, Hunter was right. It was different from anything they have seen their father draw.

It was a black and white picture, which was really odd because Peeta loved to draw in color. It showed two people, which looked just like Peeta and Katniss, on a stage and behind them you could see really weird-looking people, cheering and clapped. The faces of Peeta and Katniss where dull, lifeless, like they didn't feel anything and there were strings tied to their arms and legs. Just like they were puppets. At the top off the page, was an evil looking man, who was controlling the 'puppets'. There only bit on color in the picture was the man's red snake-like eyes.

"Wow," Finnick was the first the break the silence. "I've never seen Uncle Peeta draw something that... dark before."

Turning back to the box, mainly because she couldn't like to the picture anymore, Hope reached in and pulled out a gold pin.

Holding it up, Hope saw that it was a pin with a small bird in flight with an arrow in it's beak.

"A mockingjay." Hope mumbled.

"What?" Tessa, who heard her, asked.

"It's a mockingjay," Hope explained, showing them the pin. "Mom told me about them when we went hunting once. They repeat beautiful songs or tunes that there hear."

"Cool." Hunter said taking the pin from his sister.

"Yeah, what's that?"

Reaching in the box, Finnick pulled out a black outfit.

It was a beautiful piece of work. The carefully tailored layers of body armor, the boots, the belt, and the special reinforcements, especially, by the looks of it, over the heart.

"Whoever wear that most of really had some enemies to wear armor like that." Tessa said.

"It's beautiful." Hope said quietly as she ran her hand over the fabric.

"Guys. Look at this."

Everyone turned to Hunter and saw him looking into the box.

Finnick carefully placed the outfit on the table, and him, plus the girls, looked into the box.

Lying at the bottom, were stacks of tapes. And by the height of the stacks and the number of rows, they could tell that there were a lot of them.

"Are these the tapes?" Finnick asked in a whisper.

"Yes." Hope breathed.

She could see that no one wanted to make the first move. And why would they? This was it. All the question they asked over the years. All the secrets that were kept from them. They were this close to getting all the answers. Or, so they hoped.

Carefully and slowly, Hope reached into the box and pulled out the first tape.

"What does it say?" Hunter asked in a low voice.

Drawing a shaky breath, Hope read out,

"The 1st Annual Hunger Games."

Slowly lifting her head, Hope was meant with the confused looks of her best friends and little brother.

"The Hunger Games? What's that?" Finnick asked, narrowing his eyes.

"I don't know," Hunter said shaking his head. "But to me, it doesn't sound like the kind of games I want to be apart of."

"Do you think that this is it?" Tessa asked. "Do you think that this is what our parents wanted to keep from us?"

"It sounds like something that I would want to keep for me kids." Finnick told her. "I mean, why would you tell your kids about a game called 'The Hunger Games'?"

"But what does it have to do with our parents?" Hunter argued. "I mean. If it really is something bad, why would they take part in it?"

"I don't know..."

While this little conversion was going on, Hope was going though the tapes. If this really was what they parents were keeping from them, there had to be _something_ in here that would tell them.

As she was taking out all the tapes, she noticed one thing. They all had one name and a district on them.

When she had about 50 tapes out and on the table, Hope saw something that made her stop and nearly drop the tape she was holding on the floor.

"Hope? What is it?" Hunter asked, concerned by his sister's sudden stop.

"I found it." Hope said, though her voice was barely audible.

"What? Hope, what is it? What did you find?" Tessa asked, leaning forward.

Hope looked up at the faces of Finnick, Tessa and Hunter. Each one of them wore a confused and anxious look.

Looking back down at the tape, Hope read it out, this time louder but her voice was shaky.

_"The 50th Annual Hunger Games: Second Quarter Quell.  
Victor: Haymitch Abernathy.  
District 12."_

* * *

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	5. Stop And Stare

_Stop And Stare - One Republic._

"_I'd learned that some things are best kept secret." - Nicholas Sparks._

* * *

Haymitch. Haymitch Abernathy.

The drunk man next door who was almost like a grandfather to the kids. The man who took care of geese. The man who, all though he seemed like he didn't, always knew what he was talking about. The man who, even if he denied it, loved Hope and Hunter just like they were his own grandchildren.

Haymitch took part is these games. These games that the kids knew nothing about.

Haymitch Abernathy was the kids first clue to finding out about their parents.

The teens didn't know how long they stood there, just staring at the tape that was in Hope's hands.

It could have been seconds, minutes, maybe even hours.

Eventually, Finnick decided that he couldn't take the silence any longer.

"Haymitch? As in the drunk old man next door?"

Tessa ripped her eyes away from the tape and glared at Finnick.

"How many Haymitch's do you know?" She snapped.

"I was just trying to lighten the mood." Finnick throw his hands up.

"This is it," Hope breathed, before saying louder. "Guys. If Haymitch was apart of these... these games. Then maybe, maybe these tapes are the answer to everything."

"It is possible," Hunter said. "But Hope. Even if they are, what are we going to do? I mean, we can't watch 70 plus tapes."

"We don't have to," Hope explained. "All the tapes have a name and district on them. We just go though them and pick out the ones we know."

"Okay. Say that we go though all the tapes," Tessa started. "There is no guarantee that we will even find some else we know."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," said Hope. "And even if Haymitch is the only name we see that we know, then we will just go over to his house and bug him until he has to answer our questions."

"Awesome plan Hope." Finnick said sarcastically.

Hope rolled her eyes at him. "Let's just get to work going though the tapes."

Tessa, Hunter and Finnick started going though the big pile of 49 tapes that Hope already took out of the box, just in case she missed a name they knew.

Hope placed Haymitch's tape off to the side and started to go though the box that still had 20 or so tapes left in it.

After a few minutes, and once Tessa, Finnick and Hunter had gone though all the tapes, which didn't take them very long at all seen as there was three of them, Tessa sighed.

"There wasn't one name out of all those 49 tapes that I knew."

Hope looked up. "You guys are done already?"

"Three of us going though 49 tapes. Doesn't take very long." Tessa explained.

"Plus if you think about it," Hunter said. "It makes senses for us not to know any of those names. I mean, Haymitch is pretty old. I doubt that we would know anyone older than him."

"Did you find anyone yet Hope?" Finnick asked.

Sighing, Hope shook her head no as she placed tape number 64 in the pile of people they didn't know.

"Maybe we were wrong Hope," Tessa told her. "There are less than 10 tapes left. Maybe there is no one else we know. Maybe it's only-"

"Hope? What is it?" Finnick asked, cutting off Tessa.

While Tessa was talking, Hope had reached in the box and pulled out the next tape.

She took one look at the name and district and her face lost all its color. Her eye's were wide and she was finding it hard to breathe.

"Hope," Hunter said, walking over to his sister. "Breathe."

Drawing a shaky breath, Hope nodded her head to tell the others she was okay.

"Alright. Now. Tell us what the tape says."

Hope looked her brother in the eyes, silently telling him that it's wasn't their parents.

Then, she turned to Finnick.

"Finn," she said in a soft voice. "You're named after your dad right?"

Raising an eyebrow, Finnick nodded his head. "Yeah. Why?"

Taking another breath, Hope looked down at the tape in her hands and read,

_"The 65th Annual Hunger Games.  
Victor: Finnick Odair.  
District 4."_

Hope looked back up at Finnick. His face was whiter than a sheet and he was just staring at her, with no emotion in his eyes.

"Finn?" Tessa whispered, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Are- Are you sure?" Finnick asked Hope, ignoring Tessa.

Nodding her head, Hope passed Finnick the tape.

Finnick looked down at the tape, running one of his hands over his father's name.

Hope could only imagine what was going though his head at the moment.

In his hands, Finnick was holding the one think that could finally tell him about his father. Sure, he had his mother, who did tell him amazing story about how funny and caring his father was. But, Finnick knew that it hurt his mother to talk about his dad. Good or bad memory, Annie always ended up crying at the end of it, leaving the room and a very confused Finnick Jr. behind.

Over the years, Finnick had just stopped asking, at least his mother, what his father was like.

If there was something he wanted to know, he would always turn to his Aunt Jo, Aunt Katniss and Uncle Peeta. He even asked his Uncle James once, but he came to realize that James wasn't as close to his dad as the others were. And, the only way he would ask them was if the question was _really_ bugging him.

Sighing, Finnick looked up from the tape. There was some color back in his face and Hope could tell that he was holding back some tears.

"Well," Finnick gave a shaky laugh. "Looks like Haymitch isn't the only one we know."

Hope, Tessa and Hunter all gave Finnick a sad smile as he added his father's tape to the pile of people they knew. They learned over the years that Finnick didn't like to show sadness or weakness around them, so they didn't push it.

"I think," Hope started. "That we should all go though these tapes now. I know there is only about 10 left but, I didn't think I-"

"We understand." Tessa said.

Hope nodded her head, not really knowing what else to say.

Tessa, Hunter and Finnick walked over to Hope, so they were closer to the box, and slowly, the four teens started to take the tapes out one by one.

It only took them a couple of seconds until they came to the next tape.

Hunter pulled a tape out of the box and the others knew it was someone they knew once they saw the look on his face.

"Who is it this time?" Tessa whispered.

Hunter looked at the others before he turned his head back to the tape, reading it out.

_"The 70th Annual Hunger Games.  
Victor: Annie Cresta.  
District 4."_

Once the name was read out, everyone turned to look at Finnick.

They didn't see sadness it his eyes this time. They saw anger.

"You mean," He said, narrowing his eyes and clutching the back of the chair. "Whatever these games were, my mother had to take part in them?"

It wasn't a shock to the others that Finn was acting like this. Once he was old enough to understand why he never knew his father and what happened to him, Finnick became, almost protective of his mother. He tried his best to make life so much easier for her.

That's why he enjoyed it when they would go to District 7 to see Tessa, or District 12 to see Hope and Hunter. Because it meant that his mother could be around her friends again and have more people around her.

"Finn," Hope said, trying to reason with him. "We don't even know what these games are. They may not be all that bad."

"Do you really think something called the Hunger Games is good?" He snapped at her.

Hope didn't say anything, she just looked down. She knew he was right. But that didn't mean that it didn't hurt when he snapped at her.

Sighing, Finnick said in a softer voice. "I'm sorry Hope. It's just. To know that mom took part in-"

"It's alright Finn," Hope looked up and gave him a smile. "I understand."

"Um, guys." Hunter said, making everyone turn to look at him and see that he was holding another tape. "I found someone else."

"Not another one of my family member's is it?" Finnick gave a small laugh, trying to lighten the mood.

"Well," Hunter started. "If you mean in blood. Then no."

Finnick now looked confused.

"What do you mean?" Hope asked, narrowing her eyes.

Hunter didn't even look up from the tape as he read,

_"The 71st Annual Hunger Games.  
Victor: Johanna Mason.  
District 7."_

It was now Tessa's turn to be shocked.

They all just stood there in silence for a few minutes, just taking it all in.

_Aunt Jo, Aunt Annie, Uncle Finnick and Haymitch _ Hope thought. _Now, where are you mom and dad..._

"Do you- do you think dad is in there too?" Tessa asked.

Hope looked at her best friend and seen that her face had lost some color and she was looking at the box.

"I don't know." She answered softly.

"It's just," Tessa started to explain. "To go from knowing nothing about your parents to having a tape to tell you.. maybe everything..."

"I know Tess." Finnick told her, placing an arm around her.

They stood in silence for a few more moments, even though Hope was really anxious now.

They found Johanna, Annie, Finnick and Haymitch. She just knew that in that box somewhere, was a tape for at least her mom or dad. Maybe both.

Even though she just wanted to start looking at the tapes again, she could only imagine how hard this was for both Tessa and Finnick. And she knew that if she did find a tape for her parents, she wouldn't know how to feel.

So, she let them have a little moment, until finally, Tessa looked up with some color back in her face.

"Okay," She nodded. "Let's finish looking though the tapes."

"You sure?" Hunter asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine," Tessa told them. "Really."

Hunter reached in and pulled out tape number 73.

The others watched him as he looked at the name.

Hunter looked up at them and shook his head no, telling them that it was no one he knew, then placed the tape in the bigger of the two piles.

Hope took a breath before she started to reach for the next tape, but Finnick beat her to it.

Hope looked him in the eyes, silently asking if he was sure.

Finnick nodded his head and gave her a smile. He then pulled out the tape and looked at it.

The smile fell off his face the moment he saw the name.

Hope knew it. She had this feeling in her stomach that told her this was it. The tape had her mother's or father's name on it.

"Who is it?" Hunter whispered and Hope figured that he to had the same feeling.

Finnick looked at him both, the color was gone from his face but his eye's where narrowed.

He looked back at the tape and read,

_"The 74th Annual Hunger Games.  
Victors: Peeta Mellark and Katniss Everdeen.  
District 12."_

Hope just starred. She didn't really know what she was staring at. All she knew that she was staring. Confused.

She expected for it to be her mother or her father. Actually, she kind of knew that it was going to be one of them. But, she didn't dream both their names would be read.

Was it even possible? All the other tapes had one name and one name only. Then, after 74 tapes, there was two. Not not just any two. Her parents. Her mother and father. Peeta and Katniss.

Hope didn't know how long she stood there, looking at nothing, but she eventually heard Tessa's voice.

"Did you saw Peeta Mellark _and _Katniss Everdeen?"

Finnick nodded his head.

"Is that even possible?" Hunter asked in a low voice.

"I don't know," said Finnick. "All the others had one name."

"Something had to of happened." Hope said.

"What do you mean?" Tessa asked.

"For the past 73 years of these games, there was only one 'Victor'," Hope explained. "And then, suddenly, there is two. It makes no sense."

"Hope is right." Finnick nodded his head. "Why would they suddenly let two people win?"

"Guys, we don't know anything about the games," Tessa argued. "Maybe they just wanted two people to win that year. We don't even know what they win or how many people are in the games!"

"Still," Hope sighed. "It just makes no sense."

"There's one more tape left," Hunter told them. "Who wants to take it out?"

No one moved. They all were kind of afraid to take out the last tape.

Because it was the last tape, it held a lot of questions.

Why is it the last one? Did they stop filming the games? Did the games stop all together? How many Victor's did this one have? One? Two? Ten?

After seeing tape number 74, they knew that anything was possible.

Sighing, Hope slowly started to reach into the box.

"You sure Hope?" Hunter stopped her. "That tape could say anything..."

Hope nodded her head. "I'm sure. Besides, it's the last one. The sooner we see the Victor, the better."

Hope closed her eyes as she reached in the box and wrapped her hand around the tape. She slowly pulled it out, and held it in two hands.

Taking a few deep breath's, Hope opened her eyes slowly and looked at the tape.

What she seen though didn't make her go in shock, her eyes to go wide, or the color leave her face.

She looked at the tape with narrowed eye's, and a very confused look.

"This makes no sense." She mumbled.

"What?" Finnick asked, confused. "What makes no sense?"

"What does it say Hope?" Tessa asked.

Looking at her best friends and little brother with confused eyes, Hope read out what was on the tape.

_"The 75th Annual Hunger Games: Third Quarter Quell.  
Survivors: Beetee, Enobaria, Finnick Odair, Johanna Mason, Peeta Mellark and Katniss Everdeen.  
The Final Hunger Games."_

* * *

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	6. To Build A Home

_To Build A Home - The Cinematic Orchestra._

"_The best way of keeping a secret is to pretend there isn't one." - Margaret Atwood._

* * *

When Hope was 10 years old, she told Peeta that she wanted to re-paint her room. She was sick of the baby yellow that had been on her walls since before she was born.

She asked her father for two reasons. One, because he was obviously a better painter then her mother and two, because Hope had her Aunt Prim's room and knew it would break her mother's heart.

Hope knew about her Aunt Prim. And her Uncle's Puri and Miche. When she was 6, she was playing in her moms jewelry box and she was in, as her parents called is, the 'what's this and that' stage.

She picked up ever signal piece of jewelry that is in the box and asked her mother what it was.

As she was going though the box, she found a locket and when she asked her mother what is was, Katniss got tears in her eyes.

Hope, who though she did something wrong, quickly told Katniss she was sorry and she turned her face away, her two long braids flicking behind her, and she put the locket back.

Katniss told her that she did nothing wrong and slowly made her way over to Hope and the jewelry box. She picked up the locket and showed Hope the pictures that were inside.

Hope pointed to the picture of Prim and asked in a low voice who it was.

Taking a deep sigh, Katniss told her that is was her Aunt Prim and when Hope asked where she was, all her mother said was, in a happy place.

Hope asked if she had anymore Aunt's or Uncle's and Katniss told her that she had two Uncles, who were her dad's brothers.

Hope then asked if they were in the same happy place as Aunt Prim, and Katniss nodded her head yes.

As Hope got older, she realized just what the happy place was.

She felt bad about painting the walls of her Aunts old room, but it just felt so.. sad. Whenever Katniss would walk in her daughter's room, no matter how much Hope tried to make it look hers, Katniss always had this look in her eyes. Hope knew that no matter what, that room would always be Aunt Prim's.

So, at dinner, when Peeta brought up what Hope had asked him and when she saw the look in her mothers eyes, she quickly said that she only wanted to paint one wall.

She wanted her dad to paint a picture on just one wall. And leave the rest their baby yellow.

This way, the room still had some Prim, but also looked more like Hope's.

It took Peeta a few days to paint the wall. He had asked her what she wanted on it and all she said was something that she would never get tired of.

Hope sat there the whole time, watching as her father worked. She watched as he mixed paint together and carefully painted to wall with greens, blues, pinks, and more.

She was amazed with how he worked. Hope always knew that Peeta was an amazing painter. But to actually sit there and watch as the painting on her wall came to life, it was outstanding.

The wall was so amazing when it was done, that Hope never put anything against or on it.

The bottom half of the wall had different shades of blue mixed and twisted together to make up an ocean. Along the sides, you could see a sandy beach that looked so real that Hope could almost feel the sand between her toes. Then, after the sand, you saw a forest, a mysterious forest that Hope was sure she would find different animals and plants in it if she could walked though it. But, the most beautiful part was the sunset that was on the top half. The sky had pinks, reds, oranges and yellows mixed into one another to make it look magically, while the setting sun was casted onto the water, making it more alive.

Hope always thought that there was something that made this painting... different. Growing up, she thought that her parents seen this before, after all, how do you make up something so beautiful and magically. She thought that it was her one connection to their past.

Hope would stand in the middle of her room for hours just staring at the wall, wondering what made it so different.

That was six years ago. She never imagined that she would be standing in the same spot now.

But here she was, at the age of sixteen, standing in front of the same wall, in the same place, with the box of tapes in her hands.

And it was funny because, even now Hope still felt that connection between her and the wall, only this time it was stronger because of the box in her hands.

"Hope?" Finnick's voice made its way up the stairs and Hope could hear footsteps, but she didn't move.

Even though Hope didn't move, she could tell that Finnick came to her door and stood there for a moment, then he made his way over and stood next to her.

Finnick turned and faced the wall, his head on the side as he tried to figure out what Hope what was looking at.

"Hope." He said, breaking the silence after a few minutes. "Why are we staring at a wall?"

"Dad painted this when I was 10." Hope told him.

"I know that. We came for a visit that year."

"After dad finished," Hope continued, ignoring Finnick. "I would just stand here and look at it. I always felt like there was something... different about it. I always though it was connected to Dad's past somehow."

Finnick turned so he was now fully facing Hope.

He raised an eyebrow at Hope, before speaking.

"You know. I always knew you were crazy."

Finally breaking her glaze from the wall, Hope gave Finnick a glare.

"This is why I never talk to you."

Finnick laughed. "You're kidding right. Hope you always come to me first."

"Whatever." Hope rolled her eyes.

She then walked over to her bed and placed the box under it.

"The reason I came up," Finnick explained. "Is because our parents are going to be here any minute and Hunter and Tessa want to go over 'The Plan'."

Hope turned around and raised an eyebrow.

"'That Plan'? Don't they know that plans never work for us."

"You try getting that though Tessa's big head."

"Right," Hope rolled her eyes. "Tessa is the one with the big head."

"Hope! Finnick!" Tessa's voice travelled up the stairs. "Stop talking, fighting, kissing, whatever it is you're doing and GET DOWN HERE!"

"Kissing?" Finnick looked at Hope, and smirk on his face. "Is there something you have to tell me Mellark?"

Hope walked past Finnick, pushing him aside. "Dream on Odair."

"Oh trust me Mellark," Finnick followed Hope downstairs. "I do."

Hope just rolled her eyes as she made her way down the stairs, Finnick right behind her.

As they both enter the Living Room, they saw Tessa sitting on the couch and Hunter in the chair back on to the window.

"There you are," Tessa said with her eyes narrowed. "What took you guys so long?"

"Sorry. We were making-out," Finnick smirked before Hope could even opened her mouth.

"No we weren't," said Hope, glared at Finnick. "I was staring at my wall."

It was only after Hope had said this that she realized how stupid and mental that sounded.

Tessa looked from Hope to Finnick.

"I don't know which one is more crazy. You two making-out. Or Hope staring at a wall."

ng Tessa, Hope made her way over to the love seat and sat down with her arms crossed.

But, while Hope ignored Tessa, Finnick didn't.

"And why does me and Hope kissing sound crazy?"

"Because it's you and Hope." Tessa answer like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Can we stop talking about my sister and best friend making-out please!" Hunter said from the chair he was sitting in.

"Why? Is it bugging you?" Finnick smirked.

"Yes."

"Then good."

"Guys!" Hope yelled. "Stop."

"Hope's right," said Tessa. "We have a plan to go over."

"Why do we even have a plan?" Hope asked as Finnick walked over and sat on the other end of the couch. "Our plans never work."

"Because," Tessa explained. "If we don't at least figure out what we are going to say, then we will all be saying something different. Then they will definitely know something is up."

"Alright then. So what is this plan?" asked Finnick.

"Well first, we need to think of what we are going to tell them we did all day," Hunter said. "That is one think they will definitely ask."

"Wait," Finnick said. "I though you had the plan already made."

"No. We were waiting on you two to come down."

"Why don't we tell them we went out back for the day," Hope told them. "We can just say that we just sat there, talking, eating and all that."

"Awesome. I like it," smiled Tessa. "See, this is why we waited for you guys."

"Okay. Now, what are we going to do about the tapes?" Hunter asked.

"Meaning..." Finnick said.

"Are we going to watch them or not."

Everyone was silent for a moment as they thought this over.

Should they watch the tapes? They could have anything on them. Good or bad. Plus, it was the one think they had at the moment that would really give them some answers.

"I say we watch them."

Everyone turned to look at Finnick.

"Are you sure?" Tessa asked. "I mean, both your parents were in these games and-"

"Both of Hope's and Hunter's parents are in them too." said Finnick, cutting her off.

"Yes. but Finn, both their parents are..."

"Alive. I know Tessa." Finnick told her

"I say we watch them too." Hope said suddenly.

Hunter rolled his eyes. "We know you do Hope."

"And I don't see why you two don't," Hope narrowed her eyes at Tessa and Hunter. "This is the one think we have that could tell us _anything_ about our parents. I don't know why we are even asking if we want to watch them."

"But Hope, there could be anything on these tapes," Hunter told his sister. "Good or bad."

"And the only way to find out if they are good or bad is if we watch them!"

"Where would we even watch them to anyways?" Tessa asked after a moment of silence. "Not here obviously. We would get catch in no time."

"Easy. We can go to Dad's old house for a few nights." Hope answered her without a second thought.

"How will we pull that one-off with the parents?" Finnick asked.

"We can just tell them that we want to spend some time together and ask if we can use Dad's house. We use to do it a lot a few years ago. So they won't think anything of it."

"We can come out for a few hours each day just so they can see that we aren't really up to anything." Finnick added.

"Exactly!" Hope smiled.

"I'm in," Tessa said. "Anything to have these questions answered."

"Hunter?" Hope asked as everyone turned to look at him.

After a few seconds of silence, Hunter sighed. "Fine."

"Yes!" Hope yelled, jumping up.

"What are you so excited about?" A voice came from behind Hope.

Turning around, Hope saw her Aunt Jo standing behind her. While her Dad was at the table, putting the basket down and her mom, Aunt Annie and Uncle James were just coming though the door.

"I just beat Hunter at a starring contest." Hope told her on the spot.

_Lie number four today._

Johanna narrowed her eyes. "You two are way to competitive."

As Johanna turned around the take the few steps to the dinning room, Hope gave a sigh of relief.

"So, how was your day?" Tessa asked the adults as the four teens got up and made their way over to the dinning room.

"Nice and relaxing," Annie smiled at them. "It was nice to be by water again."

"As you can see, Annie loves the water. " Johanna rolled her eyes as she sat down in a chair.

"What did you do while we were gone?" Katniss asked, sitting down across from Johanna.

"We sat out back most of the day. Just eating and talking." Finnick shrugged as if it was no big deal.

"Really? That's all you did?" Katniss narrowed her eyes.

"Yup."

"Then how come Hope hasn't showered or changed yet?" Johanna asked.

Hope quickly looked down to see that she was still in her tank-top and shorts that she wore when she went on her run.

_Crap._

Looking back up at the adults, who were all waiting for an answer, Hope said the first think that came to her head.

"Well, you see. We were all going to go for a walk in the woods. But then we got talking and started eating and just kind of.. last track of time."

Katniss looked at her daughter with narrowed eyes.

But, before she, or anyone else had time to speak, Tessa said.

"I was wondering what that smell was."

Hope turned and gave her a glare, though she knew Tessa saw right through it.

"Yeah Hope," Finnick jumped in. "You should really go shower."

Frustrated, Hope said, "You know, this didn't bug you guys a minute ago."

"That's because we didn't know it was you a minute ago." Finnick smirked.

"Go get a shower Hope." Katniss sighed, but a smile had playing on her lips. She was used to this conversations by now.

"And when you get out," Peeta said as he put the basket back in the closet. "We will start dinner."

"Can we eat outside?" Hunter asked with a smile. "It's nice and cool out."

"Sure thing bud." Peeta smiled.

Hope turned to go upstairs, back not before giving Finnick and Tessa and look that said thank-you.

Once Hope was on top of the stairs, she could hear Hunter, Tessa and Finnick asking the parents questions about their day. Obviously trying to keep the topic off _their_ day.

She quickly walked into her room and grabbed some clean cloths, then walked into the bathroom that her and Hunter share, turning and locking the door.

Looking in the mirror, Hope noticed that she didn't look as _dirty_ as she normally did after her runs. The again, it has been about 6 hours since she got home. Even though it didn't feel like her.

She did noticed however that she did look tired, and Hope had a feeling it was because of what they did all day, not because of her run.

Hope pushed that though out of her head. She didn't really want to think about what could be on the tapes at the moment.

Sighing, she pulled her hair out of it's long, and messy, braid that went down her back.

Taking off her dirty cloths and throwing them in the laundry basket, Hope walked over to the shower and turned to water on nice and hot.

Stepping in, Hope tried to not think about anything to do with the tapes. She knew that they would soon find out what was on the anyways.

And, she kind of had a feel that, whatever their were about, it wasn't going to all that good.

After all, how can something that's called _The Hunger Games_ be good...

* * *

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	7. Clocks

_Clocks - Coldplay._

"_You have two kinds of secrets. The ones only you know. The ones only you don't." - James Richardson._

* * *

Hope hated getting out of the shower.

To her, it was the worst thing in the world to do.

The second she turned off the hot, relaxing water and stepped out, it was like she was standing it the middle of the Arctic.

Then again, it was partly her fault for feeling that way. If Hope didn't love having _hot_ showers, then she wouldn't be hit by freezing cold air every time she turned off the running water.

Once Hope was out of the shower, she quickly grabbed an orange fluffy towel off the rack and wrapped it around her, trying to keep any heat from leaving.

When she felt like she was warmed up, Hope started to dry herself off. Then, she throw on a pair of blue shorts and a yellow top.

Looking in the mirror, Hope started to blow dry her hair, mainly because she wasn't in the mood to have wet hair going down her back, and she didn't want to put it up.

That was one, of a few things, that made Hope and Katniss so different. Katniss had a braid in her hair almost everyday, save a few special occasions. While Hope liked having her hair down. She loved how long and soft it was.

Hope liked the fact that she got her mother's hair.

When she was done, Hope left the bathroom and walked down the stairs, only to be meant be the smell of her father's amazing cooking.

Once at the bottom of the stairs, Hope saw that everyone was outside on the back deck where the table and chairs were set up and ready for food, beside's her father, who was standing over the stove.

"Hey Daddy." Hope said, walking over to her father.

Peeta looked up and smiled at her. "How was your shower?"

"Good." Hope shrugged. "What are you doing?"

"Cooking. Do you want to help?"

Hope gave her father a look that said 'are you serious.'

Unfortunately, Hope didn't get the cooking genes of the family. They all went to Hunter.

She could cook. The basic things. But that was about it. She was helpless in the kitchen.

Hope didn't like the fact that she got her mother's cooking skills.

"Dad, you know that I can't cook," Hope told her father. "I'm just like mom!"

"We can still teach you."

"Didn't you try to teach mom before?"

"Yes," Peeta smiled. "_Tried_."

Hope shook her head. "I'm just going to stick with hunting. Hunter can do the cooking and baking."

Peeta, who was still smiling, turned back to the stove. "Your mother's daughter."

"I know," Hope rolled her eyes. "You're not the first person to tell me that."

"If you only knew what your mother was like at your age..." Peeta shook his head. "Anyways, supper is almost ready. Would you bring out the bread for me?"

Normally, Hope would ask her father what he meant by 'what your mother was like'. Maybe it was the fact that the box with tapes where just upstairs under her bed. Or, maybe the fact that she liked just talking with her father, and didn't want to ruin the moment.

Either way, Hope just kept her mouth shut.

She walked over to the counter and picked up the basket of rolls and the basket of cheese buns.

Turning, Hope saw that Peeta was just finishing up supper, so she went over to the back door and walked outside where everyone else was to.

When Hope looked around the backyard, she saw her mom, Aunt Jo, Uncle James and Aunt Annie on the deck, sitting in chairs and talking. There was also an outside table set up on the deck and she saw Finnick, Tessa and Hunter sitting on the grass.

"Hey best friend!" Finnick yelled out when he seen Hope walking out the door.

Hope walked over to the table and placed the two baskets down, then looked at Finnick.

"What do you want?"

"What? All I said was hi!"

"Finn," she started, making her way over to the group. "Whenever you call one of us your 'best friend', you want something."

"Not all the time?" Finnick mumbled.

Hope, Tessa and Hunter raised an eyebrow at him.

"Okay. Fine." Finnick throw his arms up. "I have a question for you."

"Alright..."

"Here we go." Tessa rolled her eyes.

Hope gave her an odd look before turning to Finnick.

"If you were a girl-"

"Excuse me?"

"I mean a girl that wasn't my best friend," Finnick quickly backtracked. "Would you date me?"

Everyone was silent for a moment, until Hope finally spoke.

"Finn. What are you getting on with?"

"Would you date me if I looked and dressed like this?" Finnick said, referring to his camo shorts and white top.

"How did this start?" Hope turned to Tessa and Hunter.

"Finn thinks that he needs to 'change up his look'." Tessa told her.

"Well in that case," Hope said, turning back to Finnick. "No. I wouldn't."

"What?" Finnick, Tessa and Hunter all said, confused.

"I wouldn't date you if you looked like that."

"Really?" Finnick asked, clearly _very_ confused.

"Yeah," Hope nodded her head. "I would, however, if you dressed in all black, got some piercings, wore black make-up..."

Finnick catch on to what Hope was saying, and glared at her.

"You're funny."

"Well, Tessa and Hunter sure think so." Hope pointed to where her brother and friend were on the ground laughing.

Finnick was about to saw something when he heard his mother's voice.

"Kids! Supper!"

The four all jumped up and started to make their way over to the food.

The adults were already sitting at the table, so the kids just filled into the empty chairs that were left.

Most of the supper was normal. Everyone was talking, telling jokes (that was mostly Finnick) and enjoying Peeta's amazing cooking.

Everyone was just about done why Finnick decided to open his mouth.

"We," Finnick gestured to himself, Hope, Hunter and Tessa. "Have something that we would like to ask you."

"You do?" Johanna raised an eyebrow while Tessa did the same.

"Yeah, we do?"

"Yes," Finnick gave Tessa a look. "While you were gone, and we were sitting out here just talking all day, we came up with an idea."

"And what would that idea be?" Katniss looked at Hope, but Hope pretended like she didn't notice.

"We were wondering," Hunter said, taking over. "If we could spend a couple of days at dad's old house."

"Why would you want to do that?" James asked

"To spend some time together." said Tessa.

"You let us do it all that time a few years ago," Hope told them. "It's just a way for us to spend some time with each other."

"And you even said this morning dad," Hunter jumped in. "That you guys would like to spend some time together without us kids."

"Yes. But, what I want to know,," started Peeta. "Is how you came up with this idea."

"Like we said," Hope answered. "We were just sitting around talking, and realized that Finn and Tessa will be leaving in a few weeks, and we just want to spend some time with each other alone."

"And so we could show you how responsible we are!" Finnick added with a proud smile on his face.

Hope shot him a glare and kicked him under the table. He was taking it to far.

"Ouch! What was that for?" Finnick glared at Hope.

Hope just gave him a look that said "shut-up-and-stop-talking."

"Responsible?" Annie said. "This coming from the boy who started to cry because Hunter wouldn't make his favorite muffins."

Finnick crossed his arms and sat back in his chair.

"I just want a muffin okay!" He said. Then turned to look at Tessa, Hope and Hunter. "And I still never got my muffin yet."

"You'll get it later." Tessa rolled he eyes.

"I better." Finnick mumbled.

"Anyways," Tessa turned to the adults. "We'll take care of the house. We promise that it will still be standing when we are done."

"Say the girl who put holes in the house last time I left her alone." Johanna said to her daughter.

"That was one time Mom! Let it go!"

"The point is," Hunter butted in. "We just really want to spend some time together. It will only be for a couple of days."

"And we will still be next door. You can check on us every day and night." Hope added. Even though she knew that it would be a problem when they started watching the tapes. But, they'd cross that bridge when they got to it.

Everyone was quite. The parents wondering if they should let them actually stay in the house.

True. They did let them a few years ago. But something was just... off. They kids haven't asked to stay in the house for years.

Finally, Peeta spoke up.

"You guys really want to stay in the house don't you?"

"Yes." Hope said softly.

"I think," Peeta turned his head to Katniss, Johanna, Annie and James. "We should let them."

"Really?" Katniss asked.

"Yes. They're older now. We can trust them to stay in a house next door."

"You don't want to talk about this in private?" Annie asked.

"Why?" James said. "We are just going to have the same talk we are having now without the kids here."

Peeta and Katniss stared at each other for a moment, until Katniss spoke.

"You really think we should let them?"

"Yes." Peeta nodded his head.

Sighing, Katniss tore her gaze away from Peeta.

"If you think so..."

"Is that a yes?" Hope asked, a big smile on her face.

Peeta looked at his daughter and nodded his head, smiling.

"As long," Katniss said. "As you promise not to do anything... that you guys usually do."

"No fun," Finnick nodded. "Got it Aunt Katniss."

Katniss rolled her eyes while Johanna laughed.

"Now, you are only going to stay in the house for a couple of nights, got it?" Annie told them.

"Yes." The teens nodded.

"Good," Peeta said, standing up. "Now go pack you four. Before we change our minds."

Standing up, the kids picked up their dishes and brought them into the house.

They didn't speak while they were in the kitchen, putting their dishes by the sink. They didn't want to say anything in case the parents hear them and caught on.

The four then walked up the stairs. They agreed to meet in the living when they were done packing.

Hunter and Finnick then went into Hunter's room, while the girls went in Hope's to pack.

"Well," Tessa said when the door was closed. "Step One of the plan is done."

"Was that even step one?" Hope asked as she walked over to her dresser.

"I don't know," Tessa shrugged. "I don't really know how many steps there are."

Hope gave a small laugh.

"You want to know what I know?"

"What?" Tessa asked.

Turning around, Hope looked at her best friend and said,

"We are just hours away from finally finding out... _everything_."

"I can't believe it," Tessa said in a low voice. "After all these years... We're almost there."

"I know," Hope turned back around. "I just wish we never had to tell so many lies to get there."

* * *

**Thanks for all the lovin' this story is getting guys!**

**The reviews/fave/follows many the world to me + all you guys3**

**Anyways, sorry for the late updates. Skating is started and I'm there from 3:30 to 8:30. If these late updates aren't workin for you guys, or if it gets to hard on me, then I'll change Update Day. I'll give it a few weeks first:)**


	8. Heaven

_Heaven -O.A.R._

"_With a secret like that, at some point the secret itself becomes irrelevant. The fact that you kept it does not." - Sara Gruen._

* * *

_"Let's just say," Johanna started. "Your mother isn't the most fashionable person in the world. She normally had... someone helping her."_

Hope, and everyone else who had ever met Katniss, knew that this statement was so true.

It was no secret that Katniss didn't like, no, _hated,_ fashion.

The fact that Johanna told the kids that morning that Katniss wasn't "the most fashionable person in the world", wasn't new to Hope.

The fact that Johanna told the kids that Katniss "normally had someone helping her", was new to Hope.

No one knew where Hope got her, somewhat, scene of style. She always wasn't the _most_ fashionable, but was she way more into fashion then her mother.

Hope normally would plan out her outfits if she was going anywhere, which hardly ever happens. The only places Hope and Hunter went, were they need to pack, was if they were staying at Haymitch's or Peeta's old house.

They never went to other Districts like Finnick and Tessa.

Hope and Hunter asked why they couldn't go visit Finnick and Tessa at their Districts, but all they got was a "We'll tell you when you're older", followed by a "Time for bed".

They never asked again after that.

So, Hope would normally jump at the chance to pack and plan all her outfits ahead of time.

But this time, as Hope packed her bag with a few outfits, she couldn't help but think about Johanna's words.

_"She normally had... someone helping her."_

Who was this _someone_? Would they find out when they watched the tapes? Did they already know this person? Were they in the same "happy place" as Aunt Prim, Uncle Puri and Uncle Miche?

Frustrated, Hope throw the last bit of clothes into her suitcase and slammed it shut.

Tessa, who was sitting on the top of the bed reading a magazine from the Capitol, from "Aunt" Effie, raised an eyebrow at her friend.

"Problem?"

"The questions just keep piling up!" Hope said, sitting down on the bed.

Tessa looked at Hope confused, before shrugging and going back to the magazine.

"Alright."

Sighing, Hope just shook her head. She wasn't really in the mood to explain to Tessa what she meant.

"Never mind," she said, standing up and grabbing her suitcase. "Come on. The guys are probably already downstairs waiting."

"Yes," Tessa stood up and grabbed her suitcase, fowling Hope out the door and downstairs. "God forbid we keep the boys waiting."

When the girls entered the living room, they saw Hunter and Finnick sitting on the couch.

"Ready?" Hope asked.

"We're just waiting on dad and Uncle James." Hunter told her.

"Why?" Tessa raised an eyebrow.

"They're in the kitchen getting some snacks ready for us."

Hope suddenly though of something.

"Be right back." She told the others us she made her way to the kitchen.

She saw Peeta and James packing up some snacks, like cookies, muffins, bread, leftovers, things like that, into a basket.

"Hey, we're almost ready." James said to Hope when he seen her come in.

"Where's mom, Aunt Annie and Aunt Jo?" Hope asked, walking over to the counter.

"They're gone over to the house to get the beds and everything ready." Peeta told her as he wrapped up the some more cookies. "The house hasn't been used in a few years, so they're just checking it out."

"Alright." Hope then reached for the muffins that Hunter baked this morning, that were sitting on the counter. "This should shut him up."

Peeta and James shared a look before they followed Hope back into the living, the basket in Peeta's hand.

Katniss, Annie and Johanna had now joined Hunter, Finnick and Tessa in the living room.

"The house is all ready now." Annie said as Peeta, James and Hope walked in.

"Finn," Hope said, before she throw the muffin at him, which he caught no problem. "There. Now you can shut up about your stupid muffin."

Finnick's eyes lite up and it was almost like it was Christmas morning.

"Finally." He breathed, then took a big, slow bite of the muffin. "So good."

Hope, Hunter and Tessa rolled their eyes, while Annie glared at her son.

"Finnick. Don't eat with your mouth full."

Finnick swallowed his food, the looked done at his lap, mumbling, "Sorry mom."

"Are you sure he is the oldest?" Tessa laughed.

"Nice one talking." Hope smirked at her.

"You can't say much Hope." Hunter shot at his sister.

Hope glared at Hunter while Katniss sighed.

"Honestly, it's like you are all still five."

"You sure we should let them go to the house?" Johanna looked at Peeta.

"Of course!" Finnick jumped.

"Mom. You can trust me." Tessa told her mother.

Johanna raised an eyebrow at her daughter and Tessa quickly said,

"While, you can trust Hunter."

"Hunter?" Hope turned to Tessa. "What about me? I mean, he's the youngest."

"After what you just said to me?" Tessa questioned her.

"Plus," James added. "Half to time it's like he is the oldest."

"Can we move on please?" Hunter said loudly.

"Yes." Peeta agreed, looking up at the clock on the wall. "It's getting late. You kids should get over to the house."

The teens all agreed.

Standing up, the kids all grabbed their bags and started to make their way to the door with the parents following.

_Here it comes._ Hope thought as they stopped in front of the door. _The ever lasting Mellark-Odair-Foss goodbye._

"Behave okay?" Johanna said as she hugged her daughter.

"Yes mom." Tessa rolled her eyes, but hugged her mother back. Then gave her father a hug.

"Finn remember," Annie told her son, pulling out of a hug. "You're the oldest, so please be good."

"Mother. I am always good." Finnick smirked.

Annie sighed. "Just... please. Don't do anything..."

"Stupid?"

"Yes." Annie answered, then smiled. "Have fun."

"Have a good time you two." Peeta hugged his daughter, then son.

"We will dad." Hunter smiled as his father.

"Hope..." Katniss started, pulling out of a hug with Hope.

"Mom..."

Katniss gave her a stern look. "Listen. I don't know what this is all about. But please, just behave."

"We already told you mom," Hope said. "We just want to spend a few nights at the house. That's all.

_Another lie._

"Okay," Katniss sighed. "I believe you."

"You all should get going." Peeta told them. "It's getting really late."

"Bye mom." Hope said in a low voice, before giving her mother a quick hug.

Katniss kissed her head. "Have fun dandelion."

Hope smiled at the nickname her mother use to call her all the time when she was younger.

It hurt Hope. To know that she had made all this promises to her mother, father, Aunts and Uncle, and once they stepped into Peeta's old house, all those promises would be broken. Just like glass. Unable to put back together.

Pulling away, Hope walked over to her father and gave him another quick hug, then walked over to the front door, opening it and stepping out into the cold weather, with Tessa, Hunter and Finnick close behind.

Hope looked up and seen big, grey storm clouds over head. Being the outdoors person she was, she knew that there was a storm coming. In more was then one.

"Let's go party!" Finnick yelled, as the teens walked done the steps.

Hope, Hunter and Tessa rolled their eyes, but laughed. They could hear the adults behind them laughing also.

They walked the short distance from the house, across the road to Peeta's old house, not speaking a word because they were scared the parents would hear.

They walked up the steps that lead to the front door of the old, unused house and Hunter pushed it open.

The four stepped inside, closed the door and turned on the lights.

They all just stood there for a moment. Taking it in.

Just a few hours ago, they were going though the box. Looking at tape after tape. Founding their parents name.

Just a few hours before that, they had nothing. They were in the same place they had been in for the past 15 or so years.

That's all changed now. They're now standing in the old house. With Haymitch's, Finnick's, Annie's, Johanna's, Katniss and Peeta's, plus the 'questionable' tape all packed in Hope's bag.

"We're here." Finnick said in a low voice.

"Yeah..." Hope said.

"We better get straightened away," said Hunter. "You know, before we done... anything else."

"What are the sleeping arrangements?" asked Tessa.

"I'll sleep with Hope if I have to." Finnick smirked, putting an arm around Hope.

Hope rolled her eyes and shook off his arm. "You don't have to."

"Me and Finn will share the room with the two twin beds," Hunter told them. "You girls can have to spare room with the double. We'll leave dad's old room empty."

"How come me and Hope have to share a bed?" Tessa crossed her arms.

"Cause it's not weird when two girls sleep in the same bed," Finnick answered.

"Let's just put our bags upstairs," Hope said.

"I'll go put away to food and drinks dad and Uncle James gave us." Hunter picked up the basket then walked into the kitchen while the others walked up the stairs.

Finnick walked into the room on the left of the hall while the girls walked into the one across from it.

Hope lifted her suitcase up on the bed, opening it and started to dug around until she pulled out all the tapes.

Turning around she saw Tessa had already started putting her clothes in the dresser.

"Guess I got the closest?" Hope said.

Tessa turned around and smirked. "Of course."

Hope rolled her eyes as there was a knock on the door.

The girls turned to the door and saw Finnick there.

"Hunter wants us all in the living room."

Hope and Tessa nodded, then followed Finnick out the door and to the living room. The tapes in Hope's hands.

When they got there, they saw Hunter sitting on the couch.

Hope placed the tapes on the coffee table and her, Tessa and Finnick took a seat.

They sat there in silence for a few minutes until Hunter spoke.

"When are we going to start watching them." He said with his eyes on the tapes.

"Not tonight," Hope answered, and when she got odd looks from everyone she added. "It's getting really late, and I have a feel these aren't short videos."

"We'll watch them tomorrow morning." Finnick agreed. "Right after breakfast."

The others nodded and started to get up, when there was a sudden crash or thunder and lighting, followed by heavy rain.

"Looks like we're going to be trapped in the house anyways tomorrow," Tessa said. "What's better than watching tapes about the questionable past when it's raining cats and dogs outside."

No one said anything, mainly because they knew she was joking. But, they were all thinking the same thing.

_Maybe, anything was_ better.

* * *

**Once again, thanks to all the love this story is getting! ****We are only 3 reviews away from 50!**

**So, I have a deal for you all. The 50th reviewer will get a longer Sneak Peek of the next chapter! Then, just so you all know, in the future if we get close to 100 reviews, the 100th review will get the FULL CHAPTER sent to them, instead of a sneak peek! So GET REVIEWING! :)**

*****Next chapter will be posted on SATURDAY, OCTOBER 27th. I have a party right after skating next Friday so I won't be able to update that night. I am so sorry!**


	9. War Sweater

_War Sweater - Wakey!Wakey!._

"_If you drink, you risk divulging your secrets. Here, have another glass." - Jarod Kintz._

* * *

Thunder and lightning storms were anything but new for District 12. They always had at least one or two storms over the summer.

But, Hope couldn't help but feel like it was just so... _ironic_, that right when they are getting ready to start watching these unknown tapes, lightning cracks and thinder sounds.

At first, when Hope and Hunter were growing up, they would get really scared.

The shapes that the trees would make on the walls when the lightning flashed. Or the cracks of sounds that the thunder always made.

The morning after a storm, you would always find Hope and Hunter in their parents bed.

But, as the kids got older, they got used to these storms and didn't really care for them as much. In fact, Hope and Hunter had even grew to like the storms.

Finnick and Tessa however, _hated_ storms.

"How do you deal with these?" Tessa asked, pulling the blankets up to her chin.

It was now 3:30 in the morning and the girls lied wide awake in the bed. The only source of light coming though the window when lightning strikes.

"I grew up with storms like this." Hope just shrugged. "I didn't like them at first, but now, I do."

"Yeah. Well, I don't." Tessa said as thunder went off again, followed by lightning.

Hope sighed. She would normally be able to sleep though this storms. It even relaxed her a bit. But, she would never tell Tessa that, mainly because she didn't want to get hit.

"Come on," Hope throw the covers off her, getting out of bed. "Let's go downstairs."

"Why?" Tessa questioned, but she followed Hope and got out of bed.

"Because," Hope explained as she put on a hoodie and her slippers. "There is no point in starting in bed if we aren't going to sleep. Let's just go get some hot chocolate or something."

Tessa nodded her head as she put her hair up in a messy bun.

The girls looked down the hall only to see blackness.

Trying not to make too much noise so they didn't wake the boys, who were sleeping in the room just across from them, Hope and Tessa made their way to the end of the hallway and down the stairs.

Once at the bottom of the stairs, the girls started to make their way to the kitchen, when they saw light coming from it.

They looked at each other before walking through the doorway of the kitchen.

"What are you doing here?" Tessa asked.

Sitting at the table with a cup of hot chocolate in their hands, were Finnick and Hunter.

"We couldn't sleep." Finnick said, taking a slip of his hot chocolate.

"_Finnick_ couldn't sleep." Hunter corrected him, which got him a glare from Finnick. "What about you two?"

"_Tessa_ couldn't sleep." Hope told them as she reached into the cabinet and pulled out two mugs.

"Okay listen," Tessa started. "Just because we aren't use to storms like you two, doesn't mean you can rub it in our faces."

"You're right," Hope said, placing a mug of hot chocolate in front of Tessa. Then, sitting down herself. "I'm sorry."

Hope looked at Hunter and saw him just drinking his hot chocolate. She narrowed her eyes and kicked him under the table.

"Ow! What was that-" He stopped when he saw Hope's eyes moved to Tessa and Finnick. "Right. I'm sorry too."

"Thank you guys," Finnick said, picking up his drink. "It means a lot."

Hope gave him an odd look, while Tessa rolled her eyes and Hunter laughter.

The room got quite and all that could be heard was the beating rain, the roaring thunder and the cracking lightning as the four sat there slipping on their hot chocolate.

"What are we going to do?" Hunter asked, placing down his drink.

"Meaning..." said Hope.

"Well, it's what, 4 in the morning. We aren't getting any sleep soon," Hunter explained. "So, what are we going to do now that we are all up."

"That's an easy answer isn't it?" Tessa raised an eyebrow.

Everyone knew what she was talking about. And what better time to start watching the tapes then when it was 4:00am, in the middle of a storm, when no one would disturb them.

"Well then," Finnick pushed his chair out and stood up. "We better get started. Like Hope said last night, I don't think these are short videos."

"Should we though?" Hunter asked, but still stood up with the rest. "Start them now I mean."

"Can you think of a better time to watch some unknown tapes then at 4 in the morning in the middle of a storm?" Tessa said.

"Yeah. The day. When there is no storm."

"Come on Hunter," Hope said to her brother as the four made their way to the living room. "If we start them now, the faster we can get answers."

"Yeah," Finnick agreed. "Also, the faster we get them done."

Hunter sighed as he sat down in the love seat, next to Tessa. "Fine."

Finnick lied across the couch as Hope grabbed the first tape off the coffee table and walked over to the TV.

She placed the tape in the player then turned around and walked over to the couch.

"Move." She said as she slapped Finnick lightly on the arm.

"What do you say?" He smirked.

"Now." This time Hope slapped him harder.

"Fine," Finnick mumbled as he sat up in the middle of the couch, putting his feet on top of the coffee table. "You could have said please."

Hope rolled her eyes as she sat down on the couch, putting her feet up under her.

"Well," Tessa sighed. "Let's do this."

"Here we go." Hope said softly as she clicked play on the remote.

The screen was black for a moment. Then, big, fancy, gold letters started to fade across the screen, reading: _The 50th Annual Hunger Games: Second Quarter Quell._

The TV went black again and a funny looking man dressed in, pretty much, all green came on the screen.

"Oh. My. God." Tessa said. "What is _that_?"

"What is his _wearing?"_ Hope asked.

"Man, he has to been from the Capitol." Finnick commented.

Then, the man started to speak. '_This year is a very special year! It's the fiftieth anniversary of the Hunger Games. You all know what that means. It's time for our second Quarter Quell! Now, if you would all help in welcoming our wonderful President, President Snow, in the Reading Of The Card!'_

"What's that?" Finnick asked.

"Now listen," Tessa turned to Finnick. "If you go asking the whole time we are watching these tapes what something is, I'm going to slap you so hard, my hand print will be on your face for weeks."

"Calm down," Finnick put his hands up. "I was just asking a question."

"Finn, you do realize that we know nothing about these tapes right?" Hope asked.

"Yeah... And?"

Hope sighed.

"Let's just keep watching." said Hunter.

The screen now showed, what looked like a stage. On this stage, was a little boy in a blue suit, who was holding a wooden box, and a man.

The man was small and thin, with paper-white hair and thick lips that seem pulled across his face. But, the thing that stood out was his eyes. His snake-like eyes.

"He looks like..." Hope started, but Hunter finished.

"The man in Dad's stretch book."

"President Snow.." Finnick said slowly. "He not only sounds like trouble, he looks it too."

President Snow then started to speak. _'The Dark Days. These are the days in which the thirteen districts of Panem rose up and fought against us, the Capitol. However, they did not succeed in defeating us, and district thirteen was destroyed. It is because of this, that the Capitol started the yearly Hunger Games, where they remind the twelve districts of what they went through, telling them not to do it again. As you all know, each district must send to the Capitol one young man and women, between the tribute ages of twelve and eighteen, to be trained in the art of survival, and to be prepared to fight to the death. This, is the Hunger Games.'_

Silence, that's all that could be heard. The only noise was the small click of the remote as Hope slowly lifted it and pressed pause.

That is it. The big question that they had been wanting to know since they found the tapes, has been answered. They just found out what the Hunger Games were. And, just like they all thought, it was anything but good.

"That's..." Tessa cleared her throat. "That's the Hunger Games. That's-"

"What are parents had been in." Hunter finished softly.

"I don't think they did it willing," Hope said. "It says that the districts _must_ send one man and women. I doubt anyone would _want_ to go in some games like that."

"Let me just get some right here," Finnick put his elbows in his legs and leaned forward. "In these games, the Capitol made, what, 24 people go and kill each other..."

"Looks like we know what a Victor is now too." said Hunter.

"We do?" Tessa asked.

"Yeah. The 'winner' had to be called the Victor because will, Haymitch, mom, dad, Aunt Annie and Aunt Jo are alive."

"What about my dad?" Finnick asked. "He was a Victor but he's dead now."

"We'll have to keep watching." Hope said softly as she pressed play.

'_One the twenty-fifth anniversary, we had our first Quarter Quell. As a reminder to the rebels that their children were dying because of their choice to initiate violence, every district was made to hold an election and vote on the tributes who would represent it.'_

"Now that's just horrible!" Finnick narrowed his eyes. "Making the districts put who to kill! That's just..."

Hope, Tessa and Hunter just nodded their heads in agreement. They didn't really know what to say. It was just to... horrible. To have your own neighbors pick you to go kill other people...

_'Now, we honor our second Quarter Quell,'_ The little boy steps forward and opens the lid on the box. Snow grabs an envelope marked with a 50. He opens it and reads, _'On the fiftieth anniversary, as a reminder that two rebels died for each Capitol citizen, every district is required to send twice as many tributes.'_

"Really!?" Finnick yelled. "They are going to send 48 people to go and kill each other!"

"This is all horrible!" Tessa shook her head. "And we are only 5 minutes into the first tape."

"How did our parents make it out of this..." Hope said, more to herself.

Sighing, Hunter said. "Come on guys. Let's keep watching."

The screen went black and the words _The Reapings_ came across it.

_District One_ came across the screen and the teens watching as the kids, ages 12 to 18, sighed in and went to their spots. They watched as a women spoke, there the mayor, who talked again about the Dark Days, then the women again. They watched as the women reached into one of the two glass bowls and pull out a piece on paper. They watched as the women heard out the name and found out that it was a girl's name. They watched as the girl walked to her death.

"Guess that's how they pick you does the killing," Tessa said darkly. "They pick people's name out of a damn glass bowl."

They sat and watched this happen again, for another girl and two boys.

The four stayed quite, aside from someone making a dark comment, throughout most of the reapings. They watched District Two, Three, Four, and so on as they picked their tributes. They watched as kids, 12, 13, 14, up to 18, all walked up the stage and to hell.

Finally, it was time.

Once the tributes from District Eleven were done being picked, the screen went all black and the gold letters that read, _District Twelve_ came across it.

They looked at the screen and watched the same thing over again, for the 12th time. A women spoke. Then the mayor. Then the women again. Then the women walked over to one of the two glass bowls, which they knew was the girl's blow, and pull out a name. The women then walked to the mic and read out the name.

A little girl, about 12 years old, slowly walked up onto the stage.

"She is only 12 years old!" Finnick yelled. "I mean, God damn it!"

This was nothing new. Finnick yelled like this for whoever got picked. 12 year old, or 18 year old.

The women then picked a name out of the boy's ball and a boy about 15 walked up.

She then went back to the girls and pulled out the last female name.

_'Maysilee Donner!'_

Maysilee was a beautiful girl. She had beautiful long blonde hair and big blue eyes. She was about 16 years old and she held her head high as she walked onto the stage.

"Do you see that?" Hope asked suddenly.

"What?" Tessa narrowed her eyes at the screen.

"Look on the dress."

There, pinned over her heart, was a pin. A mockingjay pin. _The_ mockingjay pin. The same one that is sitting the box under Hope's bed.

"If she has it here," Hunter said. "Then, how did mom get it?"

"I don't know." Hope whispered.

"They're about to call the last boy name." Finnick said.

They all looked at the screen and watched as the women reached into the glass bowl and pulled out the last piece of paper.

The last piece of paper for the boys. The last piece of paper for the Districts. The last piece of paper for this years Hunger Games.

And they all knew what name it was.

_'Haymitch Abernathy!'_

* * *

**Finally! They have started watching the tapes!**_  
_

**I hope you guys enjoyed it! I really liked writing it. I was gonna have one full chapter about Haymitch's game, then one chapter on Finnick's game and so on, but that would take to long to write and, honestly, I don't have the time to write chapters that long in one week!**

**Thanks so all the love guys, it means so much!**

**Also, don't forget to follow my twitter, LovingAwkward**

**Reviews = Sneak Peeks :)**


	10. Hear You Me

_Hear You Me - Jimmy Eat World._

"_Secrets aren't secret. They're just hidden treasures, waiting to be exploited." - Stephen White._

* * *

Man, Haymitch looked good.

He was tall, at least 5'11, with curly dark hair and his gray Seam eyes bright and dangerous. He held his head high as he work up on the stage, eyes narrowed.

If someone was to tell the teens that, that was Haymitch at the age of 16, they would have never believed it.

"Wow," Hope breathed. "That's Haymitch?"

"The only reason I believe it is cause it says so on the tape." Tessa said.

They watched as the four tributes walked off the stage and into the Justice Building, the screen then turned black.

"That's odd." said Hunter?"

"What?" Finnick asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That cut off pretty quick. Almost like they, whoever makes these tapes, was covering something up."

"Wouldn't surprise me," Tessa folded her arms, lying back against the love seat. "This is the Capitol. They are probably just trying to make themselves look good."

Then, the words, _The Tribute Parade_, came across the screen in fancy gold letters.

"Really?" Hope narrowed her eyes. "Are you telling me that they even had a parade. Just to show off the tributes like they are toys?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if the kids of the Capitol even got toys like it was Christmas." added Finnick.

They watched as both of District One's chariots pulled out. The four tributes were waving, smiling, even blowing kisses. It was obvious that they were a crowd favorite.

"They look... ugly." Tessa wrinkled her nose as she saw the full-out pink costumes. It was made of different fabrics, feathers, gems, jewels, everything that was glamorous was on those costumes.

"Why are they dressed like that?" Hope asked, though no one answered her.

They then started to hear announcers speak. They saw the same funny looking guy from the start of the tapes, and another odd-looking man with big blonde hair, high ached eyebrows and her was wearing an ugly gold and black suit.

_'... And as you all know, the Tributes are to be dressed up in something that suggests their district's principal industry. As you can all tell, District One is manufacturing luxury items for the Capitol.'_

"Ah. That's why they are dressed like that then," Tessa nodded her head. "The Capitol dresses ugly, as they have to wear ugly things too."

Finnick and Hunter chuckled, while Hope rolled her eyes.

_'...And District Two, Masonry...'_

_'...I see! District Four, fishing. That's clover...'_

_'...District Seven, Lumber. I like that...'_

_'...District Eleven, Agriculture. Do you see that...'_

"Oh. My. God." Finnick said. "They are so annoying! They should just shut up!"

"Wow," Hope smirked. "Someone's having a bad day already."

"It's morning actually." Hunter told them.

Hope, Finnick and Tessa all gave him an odd look.

"What?" Hunter looked taken back. "It's only like 5 in the morning."

"Right... Thanks Hunter." Hope said, slowly turning back to the screen.

The last two chariots pulled out. The teens watched as the young boy, whose name was Randy, and girl, Samara, wave nervously at the crowd and give a small smile.

Then, there was Haymitch and Maysilee.

Maysilee gave a sweet, million watt smile as she waved and, even blow a kiss or two at the crowd.

Haymitch, however, did pretty much the opposite. He didn't smile or wave. He just looked ahead, head held high and eyes narrowed, like he was glaring at someone. Or _someones_.

_'And lastly, District 12, coal miners, in their... traditional outfits.'_

"What's that suppose to mean?" Finnick narrowed his eyes.

"Think about it," Hunter started. "Our District is coal miners. That doesn't really give you different outfit ideas."

"But still," Finnick argued. "This is the Capitol we are talking about I'm sure they can think of something!"

And Finnick was right. The outfits could have been better planned out.

They were wearing, what looked like it was supposed to be, a _high fashion_ coal miners outfit. But it really wasn't.

All 24 chariots lined up in a semi-circle and the four teens listen as President Snow went on about the Dark Days and how the Hunger Games came to be. Again.

"God," Tessa groaned. "You know, we only just started watching these tapes and I already feel like I know the story of how the Hunger Games started inside and out."

"I know," Hope agreed. "How can those people listen to that story over and over again and never get tired of it?"

"Because the people of the Capitol get off by listen and watching these sick and twisted games." Finnick glared.

"If it wasn't true," Hunter said. "I would say that is really gross."

"I'll still say it even if it is true." Hope shivered.

All the chariots turned around and started to make their way back down the road as the screen faded out to black.

_The Scores_, came across the screen.

"Scores?" Tessa raised an eyebrow. "For what? How well they were dressed up?"

"Doubt it," said Hope.

"Besides, they all wouldn't get very high scores because they all looked ugly." Finnick pointed out.

"Nice Finn." Hunter rolled his eyes.

The same two announcers from the parade came on the screen, and Finnick let out a groan.

"Really? Them again? When will they go away?"

"What's your problem?" Hunter asked.

"I just don't like them!" Finnick sighed. "They are so annoying!"

"You do realize that we have to watch 5 more tapes right," Tessa pointed out. "And more than likely, they will be in them."

Finnick groaned again. "Please don't remind me."

Caesar and Claudius started off be making small talk and telling some jokes, that were suppose to be fun.

They there explained how each one of the tributes had to show the Gamemakers their '_strength__'._

"Oh, so that's what their scored on." Hope said.

"Still stupid," Finnick mumbled, before saying louder. "What is the point of that anyways?"

"And what if you have no strength," added Hunter. "Then what?"

They then carried on the explain that they would flash a picture of the tributes on the screen, read out their name and District, then their score.

The four noticed that the tributes from District's 1, 2, and 4 all got scores in the eight-to-ten rage. Everyone else got around a five-to-seven.

It took a little while to get to the four District 12 tributes, seen as there was 44 other people to get through first.

Little Randy manged to get a six while Samara got a five.

Next, Haymitch's picture came up on the screen. What ever he did in front of those Gamemakers worked because he got an nine.

Lastly, Maysilee's picture came up on the screen. What ever she did, what ever showed the Gamemakers. It got her a eight.

"Wow..." Hunter was left speechless.

"Pretty good scores." Finnick nodded his head.

"I wonder what they did..." Hope said.

"They're probably not allowed to say," said Tessa. "It would take to fun right out of the games if everyone knew each others strengths."

Once again, the screen faded to black, and this time, the words _The Interview _faded in.

"Interview?" Tessa said. "What next? A singing competition?"

"Wouldn't surprise me." Hope mumbled.

One by one, the tributes came onto the stage, all decked out head to toe. The girls wore beautiful, sparkling dresses, each one a different color to match to person who wore it. The boys wore suits that matched their fellow tributes dresses.

Half way through the interviews, Hope, Tessa, Hunter and Finnick knew what was going on.

"I hate this," Finnick crossed his arms over his chest. "Really. They dress them up, play with them and make them answer questions they probably don't want to answer, and in the end, 47 of them are going to be killed."

"At least we know who is going to make it out." Hope said.

"How does that help?" Tessa asked. "We still have to watch people get killed."

"Because we don't have to be on the edge of our seat the whole time hoping, _whoever_, wins," Hope explained. "We already know it's Haymitch."

"But what about the other three tributes from District 12?" asked Hunter. "What happens to them?"

Hope looked down. "I don't know."

"We'll find out soon," Finnick put his arm around Hope. "It's okay."

When they all looked up at the screen, the last tribute of District 11 had just finished.

_'Now! Onto District 12! Please help me in welcome Miss 12-year-old Samara!' _Caesar said to the crowd, who started to clap and cheer.

Samara walked onto the stage. She was dressed in a beautiful pink dress that went to her knees and her long blonde hair was in ringlets.

Caesar went on to ask her questions about her family and how she felt about being in the games. He then asked he how she was likely the Capitol and continued to make small talk with her.

She had a very good personality for a 12-year-old.

She talked about her family, told jokes about her brothers and said how much she loved them. She said she was a bit scarred to go in the arena, but it was okay because everything would be okay in the end. She told them she loved the Capitol and it was like nothing she had even seen before.

"She is so cute." Hope gave a small smile.

"Why would someone want to send a little girl like that into these horrible games?" Hunter asked.

Soon, Caesar was calling Randy onto the stage.

Thirteen year old Randy was dressed in a black suit that had some pink on it to match Samara's dress. His brown hair fell flat into his grey eyes as he walked over to the chairs and sat done.

Caesar asked pretty much the same questions to Randy as he did Samara. The only difference was, Randy and Caesar joked around a bit more.

_'Only two more tributes left! Please welcome the lovely sixteen year old Maysilee Donner!'_

Maysilee was stunning. She had on a long, flowy, shimmering white dress that went to the floor. Her long blonde hair was in loose curls and the make-up she had on made her blue eyes pop.

She walked over and sat down in the chair next to Caesar.

Maysilee was obviously a people person. She and Caesar told jokes back and forth. They made small talk and laughed until Caesar asked one question.

_'Now, Maysilee. Tell me, there most be someone back home waiting for you.'_

_'Yes, my family of course.'_ She smiled as the crowd laughed.

_Well, yes.'_ Caesar laughed. _'But, I was talking about someone different.'_

_'Like who?"_

_'A beautiful girl like you most have someone back home for you.'_

_'Oh, no.'_ Maysilee shook her head. _'There is no boy back home.'_

_'Come on! We can keep a secret. Right?'_ Caesar turned to the crowd and smile as the all cheered.

Maysilee sighed and she opened her mouth. _'Well, there is-'_

Right then, the buzzer right off, telling everyone that her time was over.

_'Looks like we will have to finish this some other time.'_ Caesar stood up, pulling Maysilee up with him. _'Ladies and Gentlemen, Maysilee Donner of District 12!'_

The crowd cheered and Maysilee walked off the stage.

"I wonder who it was." Tessa said.

"Who who was?" Finnick asked.

"The guy," she explained. "The guy that was waiting for Maysilee back home."

"Think we will ever find out?" asked Hunter.

"Maybe..." Hope said.

_'Now. Our last interview of the night. Welcome Haymitch Abernathy of District 12!'_

Haymitch walked onto the stage, in a black suit with white on it to match Maysilee's dress. His curly hair more tamed.

Haymitch and Caesar chanted with each other, making small talk. The whole time Haymitch kept up his tough guy act, or so the teens thought it was an act.

There was only a few minutes left when Caesar asked the last question of the night.

_'So Haymitch, what do you think of the Games having twice as many tributes?'_

Haymitch looked like he was thinking about this for a moment. Then at the very last second, he said,

_'I didn't see much difference, as they will be just as stupid.'_

Finnick and Hunter ended up, pretty much, on the ground laughing at this.

"There he is!" Finnick laughed. "That's the Haymitch we all know and loved."

"That was amazing!" Hunter also laughed.

"I can't believe he said that," Tessa said, smiling. "It was awesome."

Hope gave a smile and small laugh. She knew Haymitch couldn't keep his mouth shut for long.

As the Haymitch walked off the stage, the screen faded to black.

The words, _The Arena_, came across the screen, with _Day One_ fading in at the bottom.

The happy mood that was in the room stopped.

This was it.

The killing was about to start.

This is what the Hunger Games really were about.

Hope sighed as she thought, _Here we go._

Then, the countdown started.

* * *

**Sorry about not sending out any Sneak Peeks this week! I have been really busy, therefore the chapter didn't get done in time!**

**I will be sending them out this week, if I can.**

**Thanks so much for all the love guys! It means so so much to me!**

**Until next Friday...**

**Reviews = Sneak Peeks**

**Love you guys to the moon and back, xox**


	11. Lightning Crashes

_Lightning Crashes - Throwing Copper._

"_The Universe doesn't like secrets. It conspires to reveal the truth, to lead you to it." - Lisa Unger._

* * *

4 minutes 42 seconds.

4 minutes 42 seconds, is how long the teens remained silent as they watched to screen with wide eyes.

4 minutes 42 seconds is how long the teens couldn't move, couldn't breath.

4 minutes 42 seconds felt like forever.

Because, 4 minutes 42 seconds is how long it took them to realize exactly what the Hunger Games is like.

4 minutes 42 seconds is how long the bloodbath at the cornucopia lasted.

4 minutes 42 seconds. And there were already 18 dead.

The arena could be described as the most breathtaking place imaginable. The Cornucopia was sat in the middle of a sweet and beautiful green meadow, and the sky was a blinding blue, with fluffy, white clouds. The meadow went on for miles, and far in the distance, there was a forest on one side, and a snow-capped mountain on the other. Anyone who was just looking and didn't know what it was, would have thought it was the most peaceful place in the world.

Of course, that is if you took out the bloodbath that was happening.

There were people - no kids - running around everywhere. Some were running to the kill, some away.

They watched as the normal looking young adults, suddenly turned into power-hungry, blood thirsty monsters. Running after 14 year old. Killing  
12 year old. Cutting people's heads, arms, legs, whatever, off.

Others where trying to run for cover. Trying to get away. The smart ones didn't stick around at the Cornucopia for long. Just long enough to grab a backpack, or whatever they could find and grab. Then, they ran out of there. Taking cover in the woods or mountains.

All this happened in just 4 minutes 42 seconds.

All this happened, and 18, out of 48 people, were already killed.

"So..." Finnick started, then cleared his throat. "That's the Hunger Games."

"It shouldn't be this big of a surprise," stated Tessa. "I mean, they explained like, every chance they got, what the Hunger Games were. It shouldn't be this big of a shock."

"But it is," said Hope. "This is just so... Why? This isn't right. People shouldn't have to fight like this. They shouldn't have to watch it, let along tap it."

"I want to know what happened." Hunter added.

"What do you mean?" Finnick asked.

"The Hunger Games aren't around anymore," Hunter explained. "Something had to of happened to make them stop. Because, by the sounds and look of it, the Capitol people like their Games."

Tessa narrowed her eyes. "The Capitol's just sick."

The teens watched some more as the screen flicked between different people. They watched as the kids ran into the forest or mountains, running away from each other. Trying to stay alive.

The four watched for about 20 minutes, and nothing happened. It was just kids walking around a forest, taking everything in and trying to find somewhere to hide. Or kids climbing mountains, trying to get up high so they could see all over.

"I don't like this." Hope said.

Finnick looked at her. "Well Hope, I don't think any of us really like the fact that kids are running around killing each other..."

"Not that you idiot," Hope rolled her eyes. "The fact that nothing has happened in the pass 20 minutes."

"And that's bad because..."

"Because Finn," Tessa jumped in. "This game is meant for people to kill each other. That hasn't happened in 20 minutes. The Capitol monkeys must be planning something big."

"Or someone is close to something bad." Hope added.

"Guys look," Hunter pointed at the screen. "It's Haymitch."

Finnick, Tessa and Hope turned to the screen and they saw Haymitch walking through the forest with nothing but a knife in his hands.

"A knife?" Finnick said. "That's all he has. A knife."

"Finnick. Shut up." Tessa rolled her eyes.

They watched as Haymitch stopped walking and looked all around. He looked up in a tree and there were some apples hanging.

He walked over to the tree and climbed up a little ways, just far enough so he could reach for an apple.

Once he had the apple picked, he jumped back onto the ground.

Haymitch looked over the apple with narrow eyes and after a few minutes it looked like he was about to take a bite. But, right before he bit into it, he brought the apple to his nose and sniffed it.

He stood there for just a few moments, staring at the apple, then he suddenly throw the apple as hard as he could at a tree.

Haymitch then started to walk again.

"What was that all about?" Tessa raised an eyebrow at the screen.

"I don't know," Finnick said. "But that was really weird, even for Haymitch."

Before anyone could say anything, the screen cut to a boy about the age of 13.

Just like Haymitch before, he had an apple in his hand.

But, unlike Haymitch, he didn't look over the apple. He just took a big bite out of it.

He ate the apple slowly, closing his eyes and enjoying the taste of the bright red fruit.

"See," Finnick commented. "The apple couldn't have been that-"

The boy's eyes suddenly shoot open and, before the teens could even blink, he fell to the ground. Dead.

They all stared at the screen, not believing what they just saw. Then, Hope turned to Finnick.

"You were saying?"

"Okay. Never mind. The apple was bad." Finnick crossed his arms.

"That's not the only thing that's bad." Hunter pointed at the screen.

It was almost like the Capitol made a montage of all the people who died by eating fruit or animals or plants and by drinking water. Mostly everyone found out that all these things were poisonous. But there were a _lucky_ few, who didn't.

The screen suddenly cut to black and the words _End of Day One: Death Count_ came up on the screen.

"A death count?" Tessa said, her voice full of disgust.

"Of course Tess," Finnick narrowed her eyes at the screen. "They need some way of letting people know who were killed."

They watched the screen as face after face flashed in the sky, showing the person's name and distract.

"27." Hunter whispered once it was all over.

Sighing, Hope said, "That means there is only 21 left."

"And 20 of them are going to die." Tessa added.

The words _The Arena: Day Two _faded onto the screen.

"I have a feeling that these days in the area are just going to get worse." Finnick commented as he leaned back onto the couch, arms crossed.

And he was anything but wrong, even though the next few 'days' weren't as bad.

They sat back and watched as kid after kid flashed on the screen, showing them trying to keep going and to keep living. For their friends. For their family. For themselves.

The teens watch for a good 45 minutes, which ended up being around four days, and only about four people had died. That was, until things finally started to _heat_ up.

"It's be four days and nothing has happened!" Tessa sighed.

"Actually Tessa," Finnick smirked. "It's only been 40 minutes."

Tessa glared at Finnick as Hunter spoke.

"I don't think the Capitol likes that nothing is really happening."

"You thing they are planning something." Hope narrowed her eyes at her brother.

Hunter shrugged. "Seems like something the Capitol would do."

Suddenly, there was a rumbling sound and the teens turned back to the screen.

They saw about 10 people, walking up the biggest mountain that was in the area. The rumbling started up again and the 10 people stopped and looked around, trying to find out were the sound was coming from.

Smoke started to come up out of the top of the mountain as the rumbling came again.

Before anyone, teens and the 10 people on the mountain, could even blink, a white hot liquid poured out of the mountain and made it's way done the side. Fast. The same side the 10 people were standing on.

The four teens could do nothing but watch in horror as the 10 kids/teens tried to out run the lava. But they didn't stand a chance. The lava quickly reach them, and they were gone.

"A volcano?" Finnick said in disbelief. "They disguised the mountain as a volcano?!"

"This is horrible!" Tessa said. "They just _watched_ as 10 people were killed and did nothing about it!"

"Maybe they couldn't do anything about it..." Hope commented.

"Do you really think that Hope?" Tessa asked. "This is a game the Capitol made so they could watch kids kill each other. I doubt that they have no control over what happens."

Hope didn't say anything. She just turned back to the screen as the words _End of Day Five: Death Count_ came up on the screen and they watched the same 10 people flashed in the sky.

Day six in the Arena begun and it started just like any other one. Flashing between kids who were trying to live.

The teens, however, got a feeling that this was going to be a short day because a) the Capitol seemed like they were trying to kill people off as soon as possible and b) they only showed a few people before the teens had to see one of the most heart breaking things they ever saw.

"Hey," Hunter pointed to the screen. "Isn't that Samara?"

There, in the forest, was little Samara. Her long blonde hair was in a mess, she was covered in dirt, looked like she hadn't eaten in days and the all black outfit had rips and was covered in mud.

She was running, pushing branches out of the way as she panted harder and harder, but she didn't slow down.

She finally came to the edge of the forest and once she stepped into the filed she stopped. and screamed out a name. Just one name.

_"Randy!"_

"Oh god," Hope covered her mouth with her hand.

Finnick placed an arm around her and pulled her close as they watched the screen in front of them.

Samara ran to the middle of the meadow, where Randy was lying. With blood all over him.

She fell to her knees next to him.

"_Come on. No. No. Randy. Wake up." _They heard her say as she tried to wake him up. When that didn't work, she tried to get him breathing.

_"Randy. No. Get up. Come on. Don't leave me."_

Tears were felling from Samara's eyes as she stopped trying to wake Randy up. She slowly lifted her hands in front of her and saw that they were covered in his blood.

_"I want to go home. I want to go home."_ She said over and over, placing her head in her hands.

Her head suddenly snapped up and she looked to the left.

By now, Hope and Tessa had tears silently felling down they faces. Finnick had his arms still around Hope and she was cuddle next to him as he tried to hold it together. Hunter had his head in his hands and Tessa's legs were pulled up to her chest.

But, seeing the long blonde hair, blue eyed monster that was running towards that little girl, with an axe in her hand, made everything 10 times worse.

And the fact, that when Samara saw her coming, she just sat there, holding Randy's hand, with closed eyes, didn't help one bit.

When that... _monster_ brought the axe up, Hope hide into Finnick's side, as Tessa placed her hand on her knees and Finnick looked down. Hunter didn't even move from his spot.

That was the loudest the canon ever sounded to the teens.

Finnick reached onto the coffee table, picked up the remote and pressed paused just as _The Arena: Day Seven _came onto the screen.

No one said anything. They all just sat there. Not moving. Not speaking.

They just stayed there. Taking it all in.

They stayed like that for a good 5 minutes until Hunter sighed.

"We knew it was going to be bad."

"Yes," Tessa looked up, as well as Finnick and Hope. "But we didn't knew it was going to be _that_ bad."

"So what? Are we going to keep watch? Or not?"

"Keep watching." Hope said, sitting up. "We _need_ to."

No one argued as Finnick pressed play on the remote.

Day seven opened differently there the rest. This time, it showed four people, getting ready to fight. And by the looks of it, it was one against three.

"Wait!" Finnick said. "That's Haymitch."

"That's Haymitch, getting ready to fight three other people." Hunter added.

"And by the looks of it," said Tessa. "These three other people have way better weapons there a small knife."

They watched as Haymitch and the three others started to kick, hit, and punch each other. One guy came after Haymitch with a big piece of wood, but Haymitch grabbed it, kicked the guy in the stomach and was able to take the wood and hit them so hard over the head that it killed him.

"Okay. Remind me never to get Haymitch made again." Finnick said as they watch Haymitch slit the second guys throat.

"That's so gross!" Hope wrinkled her nose.

The third guy was a lot harder to kill. Him and Haymitch kicked and hit each other until they fell in the ground and started to roll around.

The guy was able to take the knife out of Haymitch's hand and roll them over so Haymitch was on his back with a knife to his throat. But, before the knife could cut him, Haymitch kicked the guy off him, making the knife go out of his hand.

Haymitch started for the knife, but the guy got there first. He took the knife and grabbed Haymitch by the hair, pulling him onto his knees, and held the knife to his throat.

Right before he could slit open his throat, the guy let go of Haymitch.

Haymitch fell to the ground and turned over on his back as the guy pulled a dart out of his neck. Then, he dropped dead.

Haymitch slowly stood up and walked over to the guy. Once he was sure he was dead, Haymitch took back his knife.

He then turned and looked in the direction the dart came from.

This was when the teens saw Maysilee come out from behind a tree.

"You know," started Tessa. "I think that would have been a lot more... scary if we didn't know that Haymitch lives."

"Tessa. That was still scary as hell!" Hope glared at her.

"God Hope. If we knew that these tapes would make you so... _girly_, then we wouldn't of watched them." Finnick teased.

Hope then turned to glare at him while Tessa and Hunter laughed.

"In other news," Tessa said once she calmed down. "Looks like Haymitch and Maysilee will be sticking together for a while."

"I hope so," Hope said. "But I also hope it doesn't come down to just them two."

Over the next few days of the Games, the teens watched as Haymitch and Maysilee teamed up and helped each other stay alive.

Maysilee, somehow, find food that was safe to eat and they would drink when it rained, which they also find out was safe to do.

They went on like this for a few days, walking in a random direction, heading to some place Haymitch was determined to get to.

"Where is he trying to go?" Tessa questioned.

"Now listen. If you go asking the whole time we are watching these tapes what is going on, I'm going to slap you so hard, my hand print will be on your face for weeks." Finnick smirked.

Tessa just glared at him. "Shut up."

Finally, on day ten, they came to the edge of a cliff.

"So that's what he was trying to find!" Hunter said.

Tessa, Finnick and Hope gave him an odd look.

"Care to explain brother?"

"Think about it. The Arena can't go on forever. It has to end somewhere."

"Alright," Finnick started. "But what was the point of Haymitch finding the end on the Arena?"

Hunter's face fell. "I don't know."

"And it looks like Maysilee doesn't know also." Hope pointed to the screen.

When the teens looked up, they saw Maysilee tell Haymitch that she didn't want it to come down to the two of them then she turned and walked away.

"So..." Tessa said. "What now?"

Before the other three could answer him, they saw Haymitch pick up a rock and throw it off the cliff.

"That's right Haymitch, you show that rock!" Finnick rolled his eyes.

"His in an Arena with people trying to kill him, and he's throwing rocks..." Hope raised an eyebrow.

"Did you see that!?" Hunter jumped up.

"What?" Tessa, Finnick and Hope asked.

Before Hunter could answer them, Haymitch picked up other rock and throw it off the cliff.

"Don't say anything," Hunter told them. "Just watch."

And they did. Tessa, Finnick and Hope watched as the rock that Haymitch just flicked off the cliff came back.

"I still don't understand," Tessa started. "What does this-"

Suddenly, a blood curdling scream came from the screen and the teens looked up to see Haymitch run off in the direction Maysilee just took off in.

After a few minutes of running, Haymitch came to a clearing with tall grass.

"Oh god, not again." Hope whispered as she moved closer to Finnick.

Lying in the middle of the tall grass was Maysilee, she had both her hands at her throat.

No one need to say anything. They all knew what was happening.

Haymitch didn't saw a word as he fell to his knees next to her.

Maysilee just lifted one hand and Haymitch held it in his, staring at her as she slowly died.

Once again, the girls were in tears. All four teens stared at the screen as they watched Haymitch stay with Maysilee until she was gone.

"I can't believe it." Tessa whispered, not knowing with else to say.

"He stayed with her." Hope gave a sad small smile.

"Do you hear that?" Finnick said suddenly and they all knew he was talking about the Games.

It was almost as if Haymitch heard him too, because once he was on her feet, Haymitch turned around and saw that same girl who killed Samara, standing behind him.

"Hold on," Hope said, turning to Hunter. "Hunt. How many people are left?"

Hunter looked from his sister, to his best friends then back at the screen.

"They are the last two."

Finnick turned back to the screen. "I believe a fight is about to happen."

And he was right.

Haymitch and the girl started to kick and punch each other. Haymitch grabbed her shoulders and hit his head off her face, giving her a bloody nose. He then lifted his knife and cut her right across the arm.

"That was not good." Hunter said.

"She is gonna be really mad now." Tessa added.

The girl lifted her foot and kicked him so hard in the stomach that he flow back onto the ground. She started to run towards him but Haymitch got to his feet and knocked her feet out from under her, making her fell to the ground.

Once she was up, she tried throwing punches at him, which he blocked. Then, when he wasn't expecting it, she took her axe and nailed him in the stomach with it.

"God! That's gross!" Hope winced.

Haymitch doubled over in plain as the girl lifted her axe to kill him for good. But, Haymitch lifted his knife up and stabbed it in her eye, making her scream and fall to the ground. Then, as fast as he could, Haymitch started to make his way up the hill.

"The eye! Really?" Finnick said, looking away.

"You know, I'm started to look at Haymitch in a new light," Tessa said. "He is a really strong man."

"That maybe true," said Hope. "But why the hell is he going back up the hill!?"

Haymitch tried to run up the hill, even though he kept falling, but he knew that once he stopped, he was gone.

Once Haymitch made it to the end of the cliff, he turned around and fell to his knees. He saw the girl standing there just a few feet away.

She lifted her axe and throw it at him, but because she couldn't see out of one eye, she throw it to far to the left.

"Of course!" Hunter said suddenly. "Remember what happened with the rocks."

Then, it all clicked and they all understood what was going on.

"Man," Tessa smirked. "The Capitol monkeys aren't gonna like this."

Haymitch and the girl just stood there, staring at each other. Then, suddenly, Haymitch bent over and the axe came flying over his head, hitting the girl right in the face.

It was all over.

The 50th Annual Hunger Games had ended. And the victor was Haymitch Abernathy.

The teens stay silent as Hope lifted the remote and turned the TV off.

"So," Finnick said. "I think it's time for a break."

* * *

**Man, it's good to be back!**

**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. This one killed me!**

**Big thank you to all that reviewed and congrats to ThereAreMuchWorseGamesToPlay , who was the 103rd reviewer!  
**

**Hope to see a lot of reviews!**

**Oh, and get excited for next weeks chapter, it's gonna be a special one ;)**

**Love you all to the moon and back, xox**

**** LittleGirlBigImagination just reminded me. This chapter is based off of the MainstayPro video on youtube! Go check it out, it's amazing!**


	12. White Christmas

_White Christmas - Michael Buble ft. Shania Twain_

"_I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year." - Charles Dickens._

* * *

_We're kinda Best Friends._

Hope was sitting crossed leg in the middle of the bed her and Tessa shared.

Once Haymitch's tape was finished, the four teens went off on their own, to different places in the house. They all just needed some time alone. To think.

Hope looked done at her hands and opened the heart shape locket she was holding.

It was a fair-sized, gold, shiny locket.

When you opened it you saw two pictures.

On the left side, there was a 6 year old Hope with a 7 year old Tessa. They were hugging each other and smiling big. On the right side of the locket, was a four year old Hunter and a 8 year old Finnick. Hope could tell that this was Finnick's "I'm tough" stage because both him and Hunter were standing back to back with their arms crossed over their chest with a "tough" look on their faces.

Hope smiled as she closed the locket and flipped it over.

_We're kinda Best Friends._

"That's one cheap looking locket you have there."

Hope looked up and she saw Finnick in the door way.

"Hey." She said as Finnick walked over to the bed and sat down.

"How are you feel?" Finnick asked full of concern.

"Okay," Hope sighed. "It's... it's just a lot to take in, you know."

"Yeah, I do." Finnick agreed. "It was nothing like I thought it was going to be."

The two sat in silence for a few moments, until Hope looked at Finnick and spoke.

"Are we doing the right thing Finn?" She asked. "I mean, are watching the tapes really something we should be doing?"

Finnick thought for a few minutes until he finally answered her.

"I think, that if it weren't for these tapes, then we would still be where we were before, not fulling understanding our parents. And it may have led to some more problems down the road."

"There why doesn't it feel right?"

"Because we are doing it behind their backs, " Finnick explained. Then he stood up and turned around so he was now looking down at Hope. "We'll tell them. Later now. And they will be mad at first. But, it will all come together."

Hope looked up at Finnick then smirked. "When did you get so smart?"

"I don't know. But I like it!" Finnick smiled as he turned as walked to the door.

He stopped once he was just about to leave and turned to look at Hope.

"Are you coming? Hunter and Tessa are downstairs making breakfast."

"I'll be down in a bit." Hope said, standing up.

"Alright."

Finnick turned back around to leave, but Hope's voice stopped him.

"Finn."

"Yeah?"

"Thank you." She smiled.

Finnick smiled back. "Anytime Hope. You know that."

"I know," Hope told him, still smiling.

Finnick then turned around and left to go downstairs.

Hope smiled to herself as she walked over to the window, locket still in her hand, and looking out at the still black sky, even though it was now 7:30 in the morning.

Hope watched as the rain poured down the window in rivers and she thought about one think.

These tapes stripped them of their innocence.

* * *

A six year old Hope was staring out the living room window, dressed in a cute little red dress that went just above her knees, green tights and her long brown hair was in two braids on each side with white ribbons tie in a bow at the end of each.

She narrowed her bright blue eyes as she looked at the green grass and bright blue sky that didn't have one cloud.

It looked nothing like Christmas Eve.

"Finn! Stop trying to eat the cookies!"

Hope turned away from the window and looked in the direction of the kitchen when she heard her four year old brother yell at her eight year old best friend.

"Finnick Ray! Would you leave the cookies along or you will not get any at all!"

Tessa, who was sitting on the couch watch TV with Johanna looked up at Hope and started to laugh.

"Finnick is in trouble." She said in a sing-a-song voice.

Hope laughed as Johanna looked at her daughter.

"Be good young lady. Santa is still watching you know."

"Yes mom." Tessa mumbled.

Hope laughed as she walked over to the couch and grabbed Tessa's hand, pulling her up.

"Come on Tess. Let's go see whats going on."

Together, the two girls ran into the kitchen, with Johanna right behind them.

Once in the Kitchen, the girls saw Hunter kneeling on a stool with a tray on decorated cookies in front of him. Across from him, also kneeling on a stool, was Finnick, who had his arms crossed and an annoyed look on his face.

Katniss and Annie were also in the kitchen. Katniss was placing all the decorated cookies on a plate while Annie was standing there glaring at Finnick.

"Aunt Annie. Whats going on?" Hope asked, looking up at her Aunt in everything but blood.

"Finn is trying to eat all the cookies." Hunter answered his sister, still glaring at Finnick.

"I just want one!" Finnick then turned to look as his mother. "Please mom."

Annie shook her head. "I told you. You can have one later when they are all done."

"Besides," Katniss said as she placed the plate of cookies in the middle of the counter. "If you want until later, then you _maybe _able to have more than one cookie."

Finnick's eyes lite up as he jumped off the stool and ran over to give Katniss a hug.

"Thank you so much Aunt Katniss!"

Just then, the back door opened and in walked Peeta and James, holding up a tree.

"Good, you're back," Johanna said. "We were about to send out a search party."

"Well you know," James said, panting, as him and Peeta set the tree upright. "It's not the easiest thing ever to go, cut down a tree, then bring it all the way back home."

"Now, where is it going?" Peeta asked while Johanna glared at her husband.

"Follow Hope and Tessa," Katniss told them. "They got it all planned out."

"Okay girls," James said as him and Peeta lifted the tree again. "Lead the way."

Hope and Tessa smiled as they ran into the decorated living room with their fathers behind them.

"Okay. The tree is going to go right there." Hope told them, pointing to the corner that was left of the fireplace.

The girls got out of the way as Peeta and James placed the tree in the tree holder. Once they were sure that the tree wasn't going to move, they backed up next to their daughters.

"Good?" Peeta asked his daughter and 'niece'.

"Perfect!" Hope smiled as Tessa nodded her head.

"Here are the lights." Annie said, walking into the living room with a box of lights in her arms.

She dropped them down on the coffee table and then looked up.

"Katniss and Johanna are getting the ornaments."

Peeta nodded. "Me and James will start putting on the lights." He then turned to Hope and Tessa. "When we're done, you kids can put the ornaments on."

"Okay." Tessa smiled.

"Finn! Stop!" Hunter yelled from the kitchen.

"Oh my..." Annie mumbled before she turned and started for the kitchen. "Finnick! Whatever you are doing you better stop it now!"

Hope and Tessa looked at each other and smiled.

"Finnick is in trouble." They both said in a sing-a-song voice.

Peeta and James chuckled.

"Alright you two," James said as he walked over to the coffee table and took out the lights. "Go sit on the couch and wait until we're done, okay?"

"Okay." Hope and Tessa said.

They walked over to the couch and sat done just as Hunter and a grumpy looking Finnick walked in.

"Finn? Whats wrong?" Hope asked as he sat down on the love seat while Hunter climbed onto the chair.

"I just want a cookie." Finnick mumbled more to himself.

"You tried to take another cookie didn't you?" Johanna asked as her and Katniss walked in, each carry a box of ornaments.

"Maybe."

"Okay, how about this," Katniss said, dropping the box of ornaments on the coffee table. "If you don't try to take a cookie anymore today, you can have two later on."

"For sure?" Finnick looked up.

Katniss nodded. "I promise."

"Okay!" Finnick smiled, his eyes lighting up.

"It's bad that the only way to get him to listen to bribe him with something he already wants." Annie said, walking in.

"Does this mean that if I be good for the rest of the night, I can get an extra cookie too?" Tessa asked.

"If you _all_ be good and listen for the rest of the day," Katniss told them. "Then yes. You can all have an extra cookie."

The kids all smiled and agreed that the would listen.

As Peeta and James were putting the lights on the tree, the kids sat and talked about how excited they were for Christmas and want to really hoped they would get, while Katniss, Johanna and Annie went to clean up the kitchen.

"There. Done." Peeta said as he sat down on loveseat.

The girls hopped up and walked over to the tree to get a better look.

"I like it." Tessa smiled.

"There are no ornaments on it yet Tess." Finnick told her.

"I know," Tessa glared at him. "But I still like it."

"Okay. Because we aren't re-doing it." James said as he sat down on the couch.

"I don't understand why it took you an hour and a half to put the lights on in the first place." Johanna said, walking into the living room and Katniss and Annie.

"Do you know how distracting these four are?" James told her as she sat done next to him.

Johanna just shook her head at her husband.

"You four can put the ornaments on now." Annie told the kids.

Hunter and Finnick jumped up and went over to the boxes of ornaments while Annie took Hunter's spot and Katniss took Finnick's.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Hope cried, stopping Tessa, Finnick and Hunter from putting on the first ornaments. "You can't just put ornaments on randomly. You have to space them, or it will just look like a big mess!"

The other three kids just stared back at Hope with blank looks.

Sighing, Hope mumbled to herself. "Do I have to do everything myself?"

Meanwhile, the adults were on the seats laughing at the six year old bossing around the seven, eight and four year old.

"And she's only six." Katniss shook her head.

"Yeah. Just think about what she will be like when she is sixteen." Johanna smirked.

"You can't talk," Katniss told her. "Imagine Tessa in ten years."

The smirk fell right off Johanna's face.

"How about we just live in the moment?"

"Good idea." Katniss nodded her head.

After about an hour of Hope directing the placement of ornaments, the tree was fully decorated. All that was left was to put the star on top.

Every year, well, every year that Tessa and Finnick came to the Mellark's for Christmas, they went oldest to youngest for putting the star on the tree.

Last time, it was Hope. So, now it was Hunter's turn.

"Here you go Hunt." Hope handed her brother the star.

Hunter looked from the star in his hands to the top of the tree, wondering how in the world he was going to get it up there.

"Come on bud." Peeta got up and walked over to his son.

He lifted him up, so Hunter was now just tell enough to reach the top of the tree.

Once the tree was on top, Peeta put Hunter down and all the kids stepped back to admire the tree.

"It's perfect!" Hope smiled.

"You kids did an amazing job." Annie told them, smiling.

"And what about me and Peeta Annie?" James teased. "Did we do a good job with the lights."

"Yeah," Annie nodded. "Just not as good as the kids did with the ornaments."

"Funny." James mumbled while everyone else laughed.

"Suppers ready." Johanna said as her and Katniss walked in carrying trays of sandwiches and drinks.

Half way though the tree decorating, Johanna and Katniss left to make supper. Normally, Katniss wouldn't even thinking about helping with supper, but seen as they would have their big Christmas dinner tomorrow, and it was only sandwiches, Katniss decided to help Johanna.

Hope looked out the living room window and saw that it was dark out. But there was still no snow on the ground.

"What time is it?" Tessa asked as her, Finnick, Hunter and Hope sat on the floor around the coffee table.

"Seven o'clock," Katniss said as she handed them their sandwiches and drinks. "You guys are having a later supper tonight."

"That's why I'm so hungry." Finnick said, picking up his sandwich.

"You are always hungry." Hope said.

"You're funny Hope. You know that."

Hope shrugged and smirked. "I know."

"Okay kids listen up," Johanna said getting their attention. "Once you are done, you are going to go put your PJ's on. Then, you can hand out your Secret Santa gifts."

"Then we have to go to bed?" Hunter asked.

"Yes. Then you have to go to bed."

Once the kids finished up their sandwiches and drinks, they stood up and went to put on their PJ's.

Hope and Tessa walked into Hope's room to chance, only to find two matching PJ's folded on Hopes bed.

The shirts were light blue with a white snowflake on the front and the pants were a darker blue with smaller snowflakes all over.

Hope and Tessa smiled as they ran over to the bed.

They quickly chanced out of they outfits and into the PJ's. Hope took the ribbons out of her hair, but left the braids in.

Once they were chance, they girls ran down the stairs to show off their PJ's.

"Well don't to two look cute." Annie smiled.

"Looks like Santa dropped off an early Christmas gift this year." Peeta also smiled.

"Do you like them?" Katniss asked.

"Yes!" The girls squealed, which made the adults laugh.

Then, Finnick and Hunter walked down the stairs, also dressed in matching PJ's.

Their tops were a little red with a gingerbread man on it, and their pants were also a darker red with smaller gingerbread men all over.

"And you two look some handsome." Annie told them.

"Cool mom," Finnick said. "We look cool."

The adults laughed while Annie just shook her head.

"Can we hand out our gifts now?" Hope asked with excitement in her voice.

Whenever Tessa and Finnick came over for Christmas, the kids did a Secret Santa between the four of them.

"Sure." Peeta nodded his head.

The kids ran to get their gifts and they were back in the living room in no time, sitting on the floor.

"Alright, Hunter. You first." Katniss told her son.

Hunter nodded his head the handed his gift to Finnick.

"Oh! Oh! Oh!" Finnick had a big smile on his face as he took off the paper. "What you get me?!"

Finnick opened the gift and took out a long, thick black necklace that had a shark tooth on the end of it.

"Thanks Hunt." Finnick smiled at the four year old. "I love it!"

"Welcome." Hunter yawned.

"Hope. Your turn." Peeta told his daughter.

Hope turned to Tessa and smiled, handing her the gift.

Tessa smiled big as she opened the gift and pulled out two silver bracelets. Both brackets had a heart on it and on one heart was _Friends_ while the other had _Forever_.

"Thanks Hope!" Tessa smiled. Then, she took the bracket that said _Forever_ and handed it to her. "For you."

Hope smiled big as she took the bracket.

"Thanks Tess." She said as she gave Tessa a hug.

"Alright Tessa." James said, letting her know it was her turn.

Tessa picked up her gift and handed it over to Hunter, who was half asleep seen that is was almost nine.

Hunter took the gift and opened it. He pulled out a book that had _My Barking_ written on the front.

"It's a book for you to put all your favorite recipes in." Tessa explained to the four year old.

Hunter gave her a sleepy smile. "Thanks Tess."

Tessa smiled back as Annie told Finnick it was his turn.

Finnick picked up his gift and handed it to Hope.

She took it and ripped off the paper to find a brown box. Hope opened the box and pulled out a beautiful gold, shiny heart shaped locket.

"Open it." Finnick smiled at her.

Hope opened the locket and saw a picture of her and Tessa on the left and a picture of Hunter and Finnick on the right.

"Now look on the back."

Hope flipped it over and looked on the back.

_We're kinda Best Friends._

Hope looked up and gave Finnick a big smile.

She got up and gave him a big hug.

"Thank you Finn," she told him. "I love it."

"Alright kids," Peeta said, standing up. "Time for bed."

"Really?" Finnick whined.

"If you want Santa to come, then yes." Annie told her son.

"Fine." Finnick sighed.

The kids said their good nights to everyone as Katniss picked up a sleeping Hunter and brought him upstairs.

Tessa and Hope walked up the stairs, into Hope's room and climbed into bed.

"Goodnight Hope," Tessa yawned. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas Tess." Hope whispered.

Hope turned over so she was facing the window.

She smiled when she saw big balls of white fluffy snow felling for the sky.

Hope and Tessa were almost asleep when Finnick's voice ringing though the whole house woke them back up.

"Aunt Katniss! What about my cookies?!"

* * *

Hope smiled to herself as she looked at the locket in her hands one last time before putting it around her neck.

She had a felling it was going to help get her through the rest of the tapes.

It was like a reminder of the innocence that was stripped away.

As Hope walked out the door and down the stairs, with the smell of toast and eggs fulling her nose, she couldn't help but thing about a question that was her.

"Hey Finn," She said as she walked into the kitchen. "What do you mean this locket is cheap?"

* * *

******Happy Holidays/Merry Christmas everyone!**

******This chapter was so much fun to write and I hope you enjoyed it.**

**Now, I have a question that has been asked a few times now but a few people, and that is if Hope and Finn are a couple. Here's my answer:****  
I have to say that no, their are not a couple at this time in the story. Just best friends. BUT, if people really like Hope and Finn together, then who knows, maybe in future chapters... ;)**

******I hope you all have an amazing Holiday!**

******Love you all to the moon and back,** **xox**


	13. Quicksand

_Quicksand - Bethany Joy Galotti._

_"Sometimes, the biggest secrets you can only tell a stranger." - Michelle Hodkin._

* * *

Hope and Tessa have been best friends for, you could say a long time, but forever fit better.

And being friends for so long, you kind of knew the other pretty good.

Like right know, Hope knew that Tessa was getting so annoyed and impatient because she was dumbing her fingers off the kitchen table.

That, and the sound of the rain outside was the only thing that could be heard at 8 o'clock in the morning.

"Okay, there's what we'll do." Hunter said as he sat up straighter in his chair. "Hope will-"

"Why me?" Hope asked her brother.

"-call over to the house," Hunter continued, glaring at his sister. "And tell the parents that we are up and can't get back to sleep because of the storm."

"Which is true." Finnick mumbled as he took a slip of his drink.

"I have a question," Tessa stopped drumming her fingers. "What are we going to tell out parents we are doing all day? If we are going to tell them there is no need to call, we have to have a good reason."

"We'll just tell them we are watching movies all day,"said Hunter. "It's not a complete lie and plus, because its raining so they won't ask how come we stayed inside all day."

"Why me again?" Hope repeated herself.

"Because, even though you hate lying Hope, you're a good liar."

"And if Uncle Peeta answers the phone then he will listen to you." Finnick told her.

"Yeah," Hope nodded her head. "But if mom answers the phone then she will ask a million and one questions."

"We'll put the phone on speaker," Tessa said as she went and took the cordless phone off the wall. "That why we can all hear."

"I still don't like this." Hope grumbled as Tessa punched in the number.

"Knock it off Hope," Tessa said. "It's only for a few minutes then its done."

"Then we can start the next tape." Finnick added.

"And be one more tape closer to being done." Hunter mumbled.

Hope sighed as Tessa pushed the speaker button on the phone and placed it in the middle of the table.

They all listened as the phone rang a few times until someone finally answered.

_"Hello?"_

Hope let out a small breath that she didn't even know she was holding.

"Morning daddy." She smiled.

_"Hope! What are you doing up this early? We figured that you kids would being sleeping in as much as possible."_

"Well, seen that- Wait. What do you mean 'we'?" Hope asked, confused.

_"We have you on speaker,"_ Peeta explained. _"Everyone is here."_

"Oh. Awesome." Hope said as she glared at Hunter. They didn't think about that.

_"Hope?"_

Hope turned back to the phone. "Yeah mom?"

_"What are you guys doing up already?"_

"You see," Hope started to tell her, hoping that they would all believe them. "Finnick and Tessa aren't use to storms like this so they couldn't sleep. And because they couldn't sleep, me and Hunter couldn't. So we decided to get up."

_"Right, I forget Distract 4 and 7 don't usually get storms."_ Katniss said.

Then, Johanna's voice could be heard over the phone.

_"So, what made you kids phone? I figured that you would be avoiding us parents as much as possible."_

"Well..." Hope let out a little laugh, trying to think of what to say. "We figured that you would call sometime today. And seen as we were already up, we thought why not know."

Hope looked up at Finnick, Hunter and Tessa silently asking how she did, they all nodded and gave her thumbs up.

_"Any other reason?"_ Annie's asked, not sounding completely convinced.

"Umm..." Hope looked up again asking for help.

Hunter pointed into the living room, at the TV on the wall.

"We just wanted to let you know that we are watching TV and movies all day."

_"And you don't want us calling, right?"_ Asked Johanna.

"Umm... well..."

They heard Peeta laugh. _"Don't worry Hope. We'll call later tonight. We'll let you watch your movies in peace."_

Tessa snorted at that. How was watching tapes about the Hunger Games going to be peaceful?

Hope glared at Tessa then looked at the phone.

"Thanks dad."

_"No problem. Now, you kids go on and enjoy your movie day."_

"Alright, bye everyone!"

Hope heard the parents say their goodbyes and she was just about the hang up when she heard her father's voice again.

_"Oh, and bye Hunter, Finnick and Tessa."_

Hope froze and so did the others. They all looked at each other before Finnick, Tessa and Hunter spoke.

"Bye dad/Uncle Peeta."

Hope quickly picked up the phone and hung up.

They all sat in silence for a few moments until Hope finally spoke.

"Do you think they bought it?"

"I think they are a bit suspicious," said Hunter. "But it bought us some time."

"We should start that next tape," Tessa said standing up. "Who knows how long this storm in going to last. It gives us the prefect chance to stay inside."

"Plus, with it raining so hard our parents would never come and check on us," Hope added as the four walked into the living room. "So we don't have to worry about them walking in."

"Who's tape are we watching next anyways?" Finnick asked as he took his spot on the couch next to Hope again.

Hunter walked over the coffee table and picked up the next tape. He read the name and then slowly looked up.

"Umm.. Finnick," Hunter said slowly. "It's your dads."

Finnick was quiet for a few moments until he sighed and sat back.

"Well, this is interesting."

"Are you okay?" Hope asked, worried.

"Yeah," Finnick sighed again. "I mean, we all are going to have to watch our parents tape right? It had to start somewhere."

Hope gave Finnick a small smile and took his hand in hers. Finnick looked down at their hands than up at Hope, also giving her a small smile.

Either of them noticed Tessa give them an odd look, making a metal note to talk to Hope later on.

Hunter, who had put the tape into the player, walked to his spot on the loves eat next to Tessa, remote in hand.

"Why do you getting the remote?" Hope teased her brother, giving him a playful glare.

"Because you had it last time," Hunter explained, smirking at Hope. He then took a deep breath. "Ready?"

"Yeah."

"Let's get this over with."

"Just click play Hunt."

Hunter took one last look around the room before sighing and pointing the remote at the TV.

"Here we go again." He said in a low voice, then pressed play.

They were met by a black screen once again. Then, _The 65th Annual Hunger Games_ faded in across the screen in the same big, fancy, gold letters as the last tape.

"They don't like change much do they." Tessa commented.

"Oh god!" Finnick groaned. "Not them again."

On the TV was the same funny looking man as before, but this time he was dressed in all purple.

"I mean look at him," Finnick sat up, pointing at the screen. "He looks the exact same as last time only he is dressed in purple."

"Can't we get five minutes into the tape before you interrupt." Hunter rolled his eyes as Hope pressed Finnick back, so he wasn't in her way of the screen.

_"Welcome, welcome, to the 65th Annual Hunger Games! Now, if you would all help me in welcoming to the stage, President Snow!"_

"God, now he's back too!" Finnick groaned again.

"I guess this year doesn't have a special... theme." Said Hope.

"Well, Haymitch's tape was called the Quarter Quell, and that was the 50th Hunger Games," Tessa said. "And the 75th Hunger Games is also called the Quarter Quell. Maybe there is only a theme every 25 years."

President Snow went on to explain the history behind the Hunger Games, once again, much to the kids dismay.

"He better not explain the Hunger Games at the start of every tape." Tessa crossed her arms.

"Don't count on it," said Hunter. "I have a funny feeling he will."

"Yeah. You wouldn't want people to start to forget how the _Killing Games_ started." Finnick commented darkly.

Hope, Tessa and Hunter looked at each other. They all had a feeling they weren't go to see the fun-loving Finnick much while watch these tapes anymore.

After President Snow was done explaining about the "Killing Games", the screen faded to black and_ The Reapings_ came across the screen.

"At least there is one good think about this tape." Said Finnick, which surprised the others seen as this was his father's tape.

"What's that?" Hope asked, still a bit shocked.

"There are only 24 people. Not 48."

Hope, Hunter and Tessa nodded their heads in understanding. They didn't have to watch twice as many people get killed. Which was some what of a plus.

Once again, the teens watched as a boy and girl from each district got put to go in a game where they had to kill other people, and go into a place where they would never come out.

But, it didn't take them as long this time to find the..._ star_ of this tape. Before they knew it, and much to fast for any of their liking,_ District Four_ came across the screen in beautiful, gold lettering.

Hope felt Finnick tense up next to her and she turned to look at him. He was staring straight ahead at the screen, not moving or blinking. Just staring at the screen with narrowed eyes.

Hope frowned a bit before turning to look at the screen herself. She knew this wasn't going to be easy for Finnick. It wasn't going to be easy for any of them. But, at least her, Hunter and Tessa had their parents. Finnick never did know his dad.

The teens watched as the woman on stage walked over to the glass bowl that had the girls names.

She reached in a pulled out a piece of paper. Then, walked over to the middle of the stage and read out the name.

_"Marissa Fell!"_

They watched as Marissa, who was around the age of 18, moved from her spot and walked onto the stage. She had long, wavy dirty blonde hair and deep green eyes. She wasn't very tall and was pretty small, but the teens learned not the judge anyone by the way they looked, thanks to the last games.

Next, the woman walked over to the bowl that had all the boys names.

They all knew what was coming.

Hope reached and grabbed Finnick hand, giving it a little squeeze, letting him know she was here.

Finnick looked at her and gave her a very small smile before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, then turning back to the screen.

The woman was now standing in the middle of the stage with the piece of paper in her hands. She unfolded it and leaned forward, reading the name nice and loud.

_"Finnick Odair!"_

The screen showed Marissa's eyes widen, then she looked down, shaking her head a bit. Almost like she couldn't believe it was him.

Then, the screen showed a somewhat tall figure with tan skin, bronze coloured hair and incredible sea green eyes walk on stage.

The only thing was, this wasn't a man.

"Oh god." Hope said softy, putting her hand over her mouth.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Finnick yelled, standing up. He then turned around so he was facing Hope, Hunter and Tessa. "He has to be no more the fourteen!"

"We know Finn." Hope said gently, standing up and trying to get Finnick to sit back down.

"Finnick remember," said Tessa. "These tapes... they are going to be really hard to watch, and we may see and found out anything."

"She's right Finn," Hunter agreed. "We have to try to stay calm. We don't want the parents to hear us and find out what we're doing before we finish."

Finnick sighed as he closed his eyes and sat back down with Hope, trying to calm himself down.

"On the bright said," Tessa said in a somewhat lighter voice. "You really do look a lot like your dad."

Finnick looked up and gave Tessa a little glare, but a smile also played on his lips.

He loved it when people said he was like his father.

"Well," Finnick took another deep breath. "Let's get this tape over with already."

Hunter, who had pressed pause when Finnick stood up, picked the remote up and pressed play.

The teens had just enough time to his Finnick, who was now standing on the stage, look up and give a small smile, before the screen went black.

* * *

**I know it's not the longest! I was busy with family over the Holidays and didn't have much time to write.**

**I have a feeling that I will fit all of Finnick's game into the next chapter, seen that we don't know much about it.**

**Thanks again for all the love guys! It really means a lot!**

**Love you all to the moon and back, xox.**


	14. Skinny Love

_Skinny Love - Birdy._

_"Be careful who you tell your secrets to because when situations change... sometimes, so do people." - Gwen Ro._

* * *

Shocked.

That's how the teens were feeling right now.

No. It wasn't because they just found out Finnick was only fourteen when he had to enter the "Killing Games". Actually, it had nothing to do with Finnick.

Once District Four's reaping was done and they had moved on the District Five and up, the teens mainly just watched. In silence.

It wasn't until they got to District Twelve's reaping did they go into shock.

Just a few hours ago, they watched a strong, healthily, independent men fight for his life and win.

Now, not 3 hours later they were watching as a 30-year-old drunk was making a fool of himself on-screen.

"Woo..." Hope said softly.

"I guess we now know why Haymitch started drinking." Said Finnick.

"Man, I'd start drinking to if I went though what he did." Tessa said, crossing her arms.

"But, surly he didn't go through it alone," Hope shook her head. "I mean, he had his family, right?"

"Come to think of it," Hunter leaned forward, resting his elbows of his knees. "I have never heard Haymitch talk about his family."

"Do you think something happened to them?" Tessa asked.

"I don't know," Hunter sighed. "We'll have to add it to the pile of questions that are building up."

"Hey, I just realized something," Finnick said, looking at the screen. "Do you think that Aunt Katniss and Uncle Peeta are there?"

Hope nodded her head. "Yeah, they would be. They would have been about seven."

"Aunt Annie would be about twelve when this was happening," Tessa added. "And mom would be ten."

"That's so weird," Finnick sat back, his arms crossed. "To know that our parents were watching this."

The others nodded their head in agreement, though they were mostly glad the Finnick had calmed down a bit. For now.

After the reaping's were done and over with, _The Tribute Parade_ came across the screen.

"Great. We get to see the Capitol monkeys dress the tributes up like dolls." Tessa said darkly.

They watch as District One's chariot pulled out followed behind up District Two and Three. The outfits were an improvement for the Second Quarter Quell, mainly because really, there was a 15 year gap between the two tapes. But they still looked ugly.

"The outfits are... a bit better." Said Hope.

"Really? Cause they look just as ugly to me." Tessa told her.

Hope glared at Tessa. "I said they were a bit better. They are still damn ugly-looking."

Tessa gasped as her eyes widen and she put her hand over her heart, mocking Hope. "Bless me. Did Hope Mellark just curse. These tapes have changed you my dear."

"I'd be doing more than cursing right now if I was Hope." Finnick mumbled darkly as he narrowed his eyes at the screen.

Tessa and Hope shared a look before Tessa mumbled under her breath.

"And he's back."

District Four's chariot then pulled out and Finnick and Marissa could be seen.

The both look beautiful, like magically sea creates. The were dressed in blues, greens, yellows, all colors of the ocean. Marissa, had her long, dirty blonde hair in beach waves and the makeup on her already green eyes made them look bigger and bright. While Finnick looked like the ruler of the sea, the way he held himself tall and proud. He looked way older than a fourteen year old boy. He looked like a men.

The crowd cheer and scream and clapped when Finnick and Marissa came out. Some of them couldn't even stay in their seats as they jumped up and down in the crowd, trying to get a better look.

"They look..." Tessa started, but it was almost like she couldn't find the right word.

"Beautiful." Hope breathed.

"I think we know who the crowd favorite is for these games." Said Hunter.

Hope then turned to look at Finnick but saw him just looking at the screen. Looking, but not really seeing.

"Finn," Hope said softly. "Are you okay?"

She knew it was a stupid question, but she just had to ask.

"Just look at him," Finnick spoke softly. "He's a fourteen year old boy. When I was fourteen, I was lying on the beach, hanging with friends, laughing, talking. And he's... He's in a game were he has to fight for his life."

"He comes out alive Finn." Tessa said to him.

"I know that Tessa," Finnick sighed. "But he won't be just a boy when he goes back home. He'll be a boy who had his innocence taking away and was force to grew up way before he should have."

No one knew what to say. Any other time someone would have made a comment about how deep Finnick was talking and how they never heard him talk like the before.

But, they knew that what Finnick was saying, was true. It was sad and tragic, but 110% true.

No one spoke as they watched President Snow go on and on about the Dark Days and how the Hunger Games started. Really, they were all in their own worlds. They may have watched the screen, but they weren't listening.

Then, _The Scores_, came across the screen.

They didn't speak as the watched District One and Two get their scores, which, like in Haymitch's game, were around eight to ten.

District Three got scores around six to eight.

Then came District Four. Finnick's picture came up onto the screen.

Whatever Finnick showed the Gamemakers worked very well because he ended up getting a nine.

Marissa's picture came up next and she manged to get a seven.

"What do you think they did?" Tessa asked softly.

Hunter shrugged as Finnick spoke.

"Probably something to do with fishing," he told them. "I say they used or did something similar to throwing a trident or net making."

The others could tell by the coldness that was in his voice that Finnick was not calmed down very much yet. And really, who could blame him.

The screen faded and _The Interview _faded in.

"Aw yes," said Tessa darkly. "Another change for the Capitol monkeys the dress everyone up again. How could I forget."

"Why do you keep calling them 'Capitol monkeys'?" asked Hunter.

Tessa shrugged. "Cause they seem useless and dumb. But really, in their own sick and crazy way, they are smart."

"And you just like saying Capitol monkeys, don't you?" Hope smirked.

Tessa glanced at her, with a smirk pulling on her lips. "Maybe."

By now, the first three Districts were done and just as the last person from District Three walked off the stage, Caesar stood up.

All of a sudden, Finnick groaned.

"You know, I'm not in the best mood at the moment. But _he_ just made it ten times worst."

"You really hate him, don't you?" Tessa asked.

"Yes!" Finnick said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Just look at him! The way he dresses and talks and... it's just so annoying!"

No one laughed, but they all had a smile on their faces. They were glad to see that _their_ Finnick was still in there, deep down.

_'Now! We are on to District Four! Please help me in welcoming to the stage, Miss Marissa Fell!'_

Marissa walked onto the stage in a beautiful long, flowing sea-green dress that fit her perfectly. Her hair was in beautiful beach waves and she had a big starfish pinned on one side of her head, pulling back her hair.

She walked over to Caesar, who kissed her handed and then they both sat down.

Caesar asked her a few simple questions like whats District Four like, do you miss home, what will you miss the most, questions that you would ask anyone really.

A few minutes before time was up, Caesar asked her one more question.

_'One more question Marissa. I think we have all noticed that you are pretty close to your Mr. Finnick. Would you care to answer why?'_

Marissa looked like she was thinking for a few moments until she finally took a deep breath.

_'We both have no siblings and our parents are very good friends. So, we pretty much grew up together.' _ Marissa explained, looking down at her lap. Then, she looked up and added. _'He is like my little brother.'_

Caesar nodded his head, like he understood. _'I imagine that this is going to be very differently for you.'_

Marissa nodded her head and opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by Finnick.

"Like hell!" Finnick yelled, standing up. "You have no idea what she is going to feel like!"

"Finnick! Please!" Tessa said, trying to calm him down.

"No Tessa," Finnick snapped. "She was like a sister to him! And they had to fight in the games together! Do you think that is a coincidence?!"

"What are you talking about Finnick?" Hope asked with narrowed eyes.

"First, there was Haymitch and Maysilee, who obviously cared about each other, you could tell just by watching their tape. Now, there's my dad and Marissa, you grew up together! Do you think it's a coincidence that people who care about each other have to go to these games together!"

"Finnick," Hunter stood up and walked over to him. "We are only watching our second tape. It's to early to start saying things like that."

"We knew these tapes were going to be hard to watch," Hope added. "If you want to take a break, you can. We will wait."

Finnick closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. He didn't speak for a few moments until he sighed and opened he eyes.

"No. We need to finish watching these tapes." Finnick sat down, then added more to himself. "_I_ need to finish this tape."

Hunter walked back over to his sit, picking up the remote on the way. He sat back down, then pressed _play_.

They watched as Marissa walked off the stage and Caesar stood back up.

_'Welcome to the stage, the young men you all now and love from District Four. Mr. Finnick Odair!'_

Finnick walked onto the stage, head held high. He was dressed in a black suit, but it had the same sea-green on it that matched Marissa's.

Finnick and Caesar talked back and froth, making jokes and laughing. Every now and then, Finnick would like at the crowd and smirk or smile. He was really a charmer.

"Well Finn," Hope said. "You have your dad's charm."

Finnick smiled and gave a small laugh at that, which made Hope happy.

_'So, Finnick. Tell us. What is your main plan once you enter the arena?' _Caesar question when there was only a few moments left.

_'Now Caesar,' _Finnick smiled _'You know I can't tell you that.'_

Caesar, alone with the rest of the crowd laughed.

_'Well yes. But you must be able to tell us something.'_

_'I don't know. Can you keep a secret?'_ Finnick smirked.

_'I think we are all able to keep the secret.'_ Caesar smiled back while the crowd cheered.

Finnick thought for a moment and then he said.

_'There was something my father always said to me, would you like to hear it?'_

Caesar nodded his head as the crowd went quite, trying to listen.

Finnick waited a for moments then, right before the buzzer went off, he said.

_'Two can keep a secret, if one of them is died.'_

Before Caesar or the crowd could react, the buzzer went off and Finnick stood up and walked off the stage, a smirk on his face.

The teens sat in silence for a few minutes, until...

"That. Was. Amazing!" Finnick laughed with a big smile on his face.

Hope, Tessa and Hunter were shocked by Finnick's reaction at first, but soon, they were laughing to.

"That was better then what Haymitch said!" Tessa agreed, laughing.

The teens all smiled, glad for the lightened mood. But, that mood didn't last for long.

Once all the interviews were done and over with, the screen faded into black and _The Arena_ faded in across the screen.

The laughing stopped and the smiles fell off their faces.

Hope, Tessa and Hunter turned to Finnick and saw that his eyes were closed and he was taking deep breaths as the count down started.

Hope reached for his hand and grabbed it as the last 5 seconds counted down.

The second that the one faded into a zero, Finnick jumped off that metal plate faster than anyone else and ran. Like a bullet.

* * *

**I am behind this week so sorry that the chapter isn't longer!**

**Next week will be the rest of Finnick's games.**

**Also, there will be no update on the 21st, because that's exam week for me! Sorry :(**

**Question: Can any of you tell me why I picked the name 'Marissa' for the girl tribute of District Four?**

**Keep the reviews coming!**

**Love you all to the moon and back! xox**


	15. My Skin

_My Skin - Natalie Merchan._

"_There are no secrets in life. Just hidden truths that lie beneath the surface." - Dexter Morgan._

* * *

**** Finnick = Finnick Sr. _Finnick_ = Finnick Jr.**

Finnick stepped off that metal plate faster than anyone else in the games.

While everyone else was just stepping off the plate and making their way to the Cornucopia, Finnick had already grabbed some spears and knives.

"Well," Tessa started, trying to break the silence that had grown around them. "At least we know that he is the fastest out of all the tributes."

Hunter and Hope gave a little nod of agreement, while _Finnick_ just kept staring at the screen.

The other tributes had just got the Cornucopia by the time Finnick was already to the edge of the tall, skinny trees.

"What is the Arena this time?" Hope raised an eyebrow at the screen.

"It looks almost like a Jungle." said Hunter.

"What happens when the monkeys at the Capitol run out of ideas?" Tessa asked randomly.

"You think that maybe why and tapes stopped?" questioned Hunter.

"I don't think so."

Hope, Hunter and Tessa turned to look at _Finnick_.

"What do you mean?" Hope asked, relieved that _Finnick _was still talking and wasn't completely lost.

"The last tape said Survivors on it along with a list of names." _Finnick _explained. "So, something most of happened in the Arena to make there be more than one winner."

The three other teens stared at _Finnick_. They weren't really used to this. _Finnick _was always the one that joked around, made them laugh, never really took things seriously. Now, here we has talking serious and not telling jokes.

The tapes have already changed him.

The cameras followed Finnick as he stopped just before the tree line and turned around. Thanks to the cameras, which followed Finnick's line of sight, they were able to see Marissa, who had grabbed a backpack and a knife, make her way out of the bloodbath in one piece as she ran to the opposite side if Jungle, never stopping.

"At least we know that Marissa makes it out alive." said Hunter.

"Yeah. For now." _Finnick _mumbled darkly, which got him worried looks from the others.

Finnick was only stopped for a few seconds, then he turned back around, making his way into the trees and veins.

The Jungle was horribly beautiful. It had tall, skyscraper trees and bright veins. Deadly looking plants and insects were already and everything was covered in sheen mist, almost like the plants and trees were sweating.

"Wow," breathed Hope. "Even though it is an Arena, you have to agree, its beautiful."

"It's beautiful alright," agreed Tessa. "But just think about all the deadly animals and plants that are probably in there."

At this, _Finnick_ tensed up. Even though he knew that his father made it out of the games in one piece, he still couldn't help but think about Marissa.

She was still in this awful games and he knew she would die at some point, he just didn't know when and he hoped that it wasn't _to_ painful.

Hope, who noticed _Finnick_ tense up, shoot Tessa a glare, who just gave an apologetic smile back in return.

Tributes walked through the Jungles beauty, taking everything in. It was hard to keep track of how many was left where the screen kept flashing between people, staying on some longer than others.

Ever now and then, the cameras would change to someone getting attacked and then killed.

"I have a feeling this is, or was, a short game." said Hunter.

"Why?" Hope asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because of the way they are flashing between people and how they are just showing people walking." Hunter explained. "Haymitch's games wasn't like that.

"So, you just think that this is going to be a long few minutes of, really nothing?" Tessa questioned.

Hunter nodded. "Yeah. Pretty much."

And he was right.

They watched for a good 25 minutes or so, just before the sun in the games was about to set, until they finally saw Finnick again. He was standing by a beautiful crystal-clear lake. In his hands, he held a long stick with a sharp rock on the end. Rolling up his pants, Finnick made his way into the water, stopping when it was up to his knees, and stared down at the water.

"What is he doing?" Hope asked.

"Fishing." _Finnick _answered, never taking his eyes off the screen as he watched his father.

"Fishing?" Tessa repeated.

_Finnick_ nodded. "He's holding what's called a spear.

After a few moments of just standing there, Finnick throw the stick into the water and pulled it back out, with a fair size fish on the end on it.

"Wow, he's good." Tessa commented.

A small smile made its way onto _Finnick's_ face. As much as he hated to watch these tapes, he was glad that he was at least learning things about his father. Like how he fished.

Hope, who noticed the smile, placed her hand on top of _Finnick's_ and gave it a little squeeze.

_Finnick_ really did need his friends right now.

The teens watched for about 10 more minutes, with the screen flicking between tributes.

_End of Day One: Death Count_ came up on the screen and the teens watched as face after face flashed in the sky.

Overall, by the end of the day, 13 tributes were dead. 13 out of 24.

"This really is going to be a short games." Hope commented.

Hunter nodded his head.

"Only 11 left." He said softly.

_Day Two_. Most of the tributes that were left in the arena were up at the crack of dawn. They watched as some woke up and walked around, trying to find something to eat and/or drink. Others woke up and looked around, almost like they were hoping that it was all a bad dream and they would wake up back home, in their beds.

The screen then showed Finnick, who was standing by the edge of the lake, and he was, by the looks of it, examining his make-shift spear and his knife.

"What's he doing?" Tessa questioned. "Most tributes would be up and on moving long ago. Why is he just standing there."

"It looks like his learning how to use his weapons and how to improve them." said Hunter.

"And how do you know that?" Tessa turned to Hunter, raising an eyebrow.

"Because he is fixing his spear and swinging around his knife like his training." Hunter pointed to the screen.

Tessa huffed and crossed her arms when she saw that he was right.

_Know-it-all._

The screen then, once again, started to show other tributes. Sometimes, it would show someone just walking, other times, it would show someone fighting. Then getting killed.

After a few moments, Marissa came on the screen.

She was walking through the tall trees, slowly, keeping a look out. She, like Finnick, also had a stick with a rock on the end, in one hand and a small knife in the other.

"At least we know that Marissa is fine." said Tessa.

"For now." _Finnick _narrowed his eyes and said in a dark voice.

Marissa looked... alright. Her hair was a mess and her clothes were covered in mud, dirt and grass from sleep on the ground all night. But, she looked okay for the fact that she was in a game where she had to kill people.

It showed a few more minutes of Marissa walking then, everything happened so fast that the teens didn't really _watch_ what was happening.

Marissa stopped suddenly and slowly turned around, only to find two men and a girl standing behind her, all looking between the ages of 15-17.

"Oh god." _Finnick _mumbled, dropping his head in his hands.

The others looked a _Finnick_, very worried. They all had a feeling of what was coming and, to be honest, none of them knew what to do.

"Finn," Hunter started. "If you want, you can leave. We'll let you know when-"

_Finnick _just shook his head violently.

Hope placed her hand on Finnick's back then turned to Hunter, who was about to open his mouth again.

"Don't." She said in a soft, yet strong, voice.

The two men and girl started to make their way slowly to Marissa, evil smirks on their faces.

The teens saw Marissa put her knife in the back of her pants, then the first man ran towards her.

Marissa quickly moved out of the way, only to see the other man coming for her. She quickly lifted her spear and stabbed to man in the stomach, making him stop suddenly, wide-eyed, and fall to the ground.

"She's a pretty good fighter." Tessa commented, trying to make _Finnick_ feel a bit better.

But it didn't work, for _Finnick _still had his head in his hands and was frozen in place.

Tessa sighed, then turned back to the screen.

Marissa had just enough time to pull the spear out of the mans stomach before the other man ran for her again and, once again, she was able to get out of the way.

The two fought, throwing kicks, punches, hits, but they could never keep the other down.

The teens, minus _Finnick_ who still wasn't watching, were starting to think that this may not be the part where Marissa got killed when, suddenly, the girl who was with the two men, run towards Marissa, while she was back on, and stabbed her.

Marissa stopped. Her beautiful deep green eyes went wide and her spear fell from her hands. Then, she slowly fell to the ground, fighting to stay alive.

_Finnick_ must have knew what had happened, because he started to shake.

They didn't know what to do. Hunter, Hope and Tessa didn't do what to say, if they should say anything. None of them could really relate to _Finnick_. Yet.

"Guys. Look." Hunter said once he turned back to the screen.

Hope and Tessa looked and they both gasp.

"It's Finnick." Hope breathed.

_Finnick_, at the sound of his father's name, slowly looked up.

When he did, he saw his father, who had already taken down the girl who stabbed Marissa and was now in the middle of fighting the man.

Finnick may have only been fourteen years old, but he was a fighter. He fought that man as if they were the same age, height and weight.

Finnick nailed him hard in the stomach, making him fall to the ground. Then, Finnick walked over to him, lifted his spear, and brought it down on his stomach, without even a second thought.

No one knew what to think.

On one hand, they just watched Finnick's dad kill two people, without blinking. They should be shocked, angry, confused.

On the another hand, they just watched Finnick's dad kill two people, for Marissa. They should be happy, crying tears of joy, confused.

Hunter, Hope and Tessa turned to _Finnick_ and saw that he had tears in his eyes.

"Finn," Hope spoke softly.

"There's another thing me and dad have in common."

confused, Tessa raised an eyebrow and asked, "What do you mean."

"If anyone were to touch any of you, I would kill them." _Finnick_ explained with a small smile.

Hope and Tessa smiled back.

Hunter nodded with a smile. "And if anyone was to think about touching you, they would have to deal with us."

Back on the screen, it showed Finnick slowly walking over to Marissa.

He knelt next to her, keeping his distance.

Slowly, Marissa opened her eyes. She brought her hand to rest on top of his.

A small smile made its way onto her lips, then, with on last breath, she said her last word.

"Finn..."

Finnick watched as Marissa closed her eyes for the last time, then he quickly stood up and started to walk away.

"Umm, whats that?" Hunter pointed to the screen.

The others looked and saw, what looked like and long wooden box with a small parachute tied to it.

Finnick came to a slow stop and turned around. He walked over to the box, that was now on the ground, being careful with every step he took.

Once he made it to the box, he knelt next to it and slowly reached for the cover.

Careful, he pulled it off and picked up with was inside.

Finnick took, what looked like a three-pronged spear, out of the box.

Hope, Hunter and Tessa had no clue what it was, so they looked at _Finnick_.

It was like _Finnick _knew they were going to ask because he said, "It's a trident."

"A trident?" said Tessa.

_Finnick_ nodded. "It's like a spear... but ten times better."

They watched as Finnick stood up with the trident in his hands. After testing it to see how it felt, Finnick was on his way again. Which was good because night was starting to fall.

Soon, _End of Day Two: Death Count_ came up on the screen.

Seven people were killed that day.

"Seven people," Hunter mumbled, then spoke in a louder voice. "That means there is only 4 left, counting Finnick."

"I have a feel that this is the last day." said Hope.

"I hope so." _Finnick_ crossed his arms.

_Day Three_ came across the black screen and it started off just like day two did. It showed the other three tributes waking up and quickly leaving their sleeping places. They all had looks of determination on their faces.

They were going to make this the last day of the games.

Then, Finnick came on the screen and the way he was acting, made him look like he had been awake for hours already. And, he was up in a tree.

"Why is your father in a tree?" questioned Tessa.

"Better questioned," said Hunter. "What does he have planned?"

"He is going to make this the last day," said _Finnick_, never taking his eyes of the screen. "He's sure of it.

Finnick had a long rope made of vines in his hands. The rope already looked to be about a nice few feet long. It was hanging from the branch on the tree and fell to the ground, with a loop on the end.

"His got a tape made." said Hope.

"He's going to trap them, then kill them." _Finnick _said.

And he was right.

Finnick only had to sit in the tree for an hour or two until the fast victim came along.

It was a boy about the age of 17. He looked around, looking left and right to make sure that nothing was hiding and getting ready to jump him. The only problem is, he didn't look down or up.

The second his foot was in the loop, Finnick pulled the rope and the loop wrapped around his foot, pulling the teen upwards and upside down.

Finnick pulled him put as high as he could, then let go of the vines, making the boy crash into the hard, rocking ground below.

They watched as Finnick jumped our of the tree and ran to the teen, who was knocked out, then, to the kids horror, Finnick took his trident and stabbed the boy it the chest, closing his eyes as he did so.

"As honorable as that was," Hunter started. "It was smart."

"And like you said, it was also horrible." Hope shivered.

They watched Finnick move aside the body and reset the trap. He then climbed back into the tree and sat back down.

It was about only 15 minutes until another victim came.

This time, it was a girl, about 18. The teens felt bad for what was about to happen to her, but they would have felt worse if she wasn't carrying about six knifes, and pack full of things and she didn't look crazy.

Again, Finnick pulled the vines, knocked the girl unconscious, then stab her. Again closing his eyes.

"Only one." Hope breathed.

"What?" asked Tessa.

"There's only one other left." Hope told them in a louder voice.

"It's going to be over any minute now." Hunter said.

_Finnick_ just stared ahead, looking at the screen but not really watching it.

Any minute now. This was all going to be over. For him at least.

_Finnick_ still had to watch as Hope, Hunter and Tessa had to go through what he had to. Plus, there was still the last tape, where his dad went back into these games again...

25 minutes or so had passed and there was still two tributes left, counting Finnick.

The teens watched as Finnick jumped out of his tree and started to slowly walk around, trident in hand.

Suddenly, they heard a twig crack and Finnick quickly turned around.

There, standing behind him, was a man about the age of 18. And he looked insane.

He gave a cold laugh as Finnick slowly started to back up. Then he turned and started to run.

"Why is he running?" asked Hunter.

"What do you mean?" Tessa raised and eyebrow.

"Finnick never ran away from a fight before," explained Hunter. "Why now?"

"He has a plan." Hope said, never taking he eyes of the screen.

Finnick ran. Making turns left and right, trying to lose him.

Then, he made a sudden left turn and the man followed him, but stopped suddenly when Finnick was nowhere to be found.

The man started to slowly walk around, teasing Finnick by saying that the 'Capitol Golden Boy' should come out and that we wouldn't want to leave his fans waiting.

Then, faster than the teens gone blink, he was pulled upside down into the air and keep crashing back down to the earth.

"Of course!" Hunter said.

"The trap! He knew that he could take him down easier with that then fighting him." said Tessa.

Finnick jumped out of the tree and walked over to him. Looking up, he raised the trident into the air and slammed it down into the tributes chest. Killing him.

Finnick never stopped looking up as Claudius' voice could be heard all around.

_'Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present the winner of the 65th annual Hunger Games!'_

The second that was said, _Finnick_ jumped up from his seat and left the room. They heard the back door open and then slam shut.

"Well," Hunter cleared his throat. "I guess we should take a break."

* * *

**Another killer one to write! Sorry for the wait guys, crazy life!**

**On the bright side, I placed first at my skating competition on Jan. 19th and my synchro team placed first in Halifax! Exams were okay, then again they are exams so yeah...  
**

**Also, WE HAVE REACHED 200 REVIEWS! Thank you guys sososososo much! Think we can reach 300... ;)**

**Updates will be back on track on the 11th.**

**I am also working on a new story, but sadly, not a Hunger Games one. I'm going to finish this one up before I start another Hunger Games story.  
**

**So, if any of you are fans of The Vampire Diaires, let me know and I'll PM you the deets :)**

**Thanks so much for everything guys, you are amazing!**

**Love you to the moon and back, xox3**


	16. Ungodly Hour

_Ungodly Hour - The Fray._

"_A miserable collection of little secrets, that's all any of us is." - Guillaume Musso._

* * *

There is only one other time Hope saw Finnick cry.

It was back when she was five and he was seven. Hope found Finnick sitting outside on the back step all by himself, while everyone else was inside laughing and talking.

She asked him why he was upset and he told her is was because he felt alone somethings. He felt like he was missing out.

Hope asked what he meant and Finnick said that he just missed his dad a lot and wish he had a chance to just talk to him and tell him how much he loved him.

That was the only time Hope saw Finnick cry.

"I think I'm going to go make us lunch." Hunter broke the silence as he stood up and started to make his way to the kitchen.

"I'm going to go help him." Tessa said quietly, following Hunter.

Sighing, Hope stood up from the couch and, knowing that she would be no help what so ever in the kitchen, made her way out the back door.

It was like she had traveled back it time. But, this time, instead of a warm sunny day, it was a cold, rainy day. And, instead of a seven-year old sitting on the step, it was a 18-year-old.

Hope made her way across the step and over to where Finnick was sitting in the rain.

"I know you like water and all, but isn't sitting in the rain a little much?" Hope said, trying to little the mood, as she sat down next to him.

Hope knew it didn't work when Finnick just continued to look straight ahead.

Sighing, Hope knew this would be a lot harder than she thought.

"This is a stupid question but, are you alright?"

Finnick just shrugged.

"Come on Finn," Hope pleaded. "Talk to me."

He stay quiet for a few minutes, until finally, he sighed.

"I don't know how I feel." Finnick said. "On one hand, I just seen my father. Seen what he really looked like, how he acted. On the other, I just watched him _kill_."

"I wish I could say I know how you feel," Hope told him. "But I-"

"You can't."

Hope looked at Finnick then turned and looked straight ahead.

"No I can't. Not yet."

"These tapes. They aren't what I thought they would be like." Finnick explained. "I didn't think that _this_ was our parents big secret."

"I don't think anyone thought that this would be their secret."

Finnick didn't say anything. He just stared across the backyard, where the forest line began. He had to squint his eyes because of the warm summer rain beating down on them.

Then, suddenly, Finnick saw it again.

He saw his father at the edge of the jungle, looking back as Marissa ran off before he toke of into the jungle himself.

Finnick shut his eyes and looked away, trying to make the image go away.

Hope looked over at him, concerned, but she didn't say anything. She knew that asking if he was okay was no good. And besides, if she was in his place, she wouldn't want people asking her every other minute if she was fine. Especially after what they just watched.

Hope turned and looked back out onto the green world just a few yards in front of her.

Hope loved the forest. She knew she got that from her mother, and even though she knew how to hunt, she liked to leave that for Katniss.

Hope loved just walking, and running, through the forest. To just listen and hear all the different sounds and to always found some new plant or tree. It's what relaxed Hope.

Now, that was pretty much all ruined.

When she looked out into the forest, Hope kind of got an idea of what made Finnick shut his eyes.

All she saw now was people dying. Teens running for their life through the forest. Kids sleep in trees, hiding, trying to find a way out.

And Finnick's dad. Up in a tree. Being focused to kill people who have long gone mad.

"Say something."

Hope looked back at Finnick who was staring at her. His bronze hair wet, sticking to his forehead and his green eyes looking intensely at her.

"I don't-"

"Just say something," Finnick interrupted her. "Something. Anything."

Hope thought for a moment, kind of confused. She didn't really understand what Finnick wanted her to say. She could tell him that everything would be already, but that just didn't feel right to tell him.

Then, it suddenly clicked.

Finnick asked her the same thing eleven years ago, the first time she saw him cry.

He wanted her to be honest. To tell him if he was overreacting, if he was right to feel this way.

He just wanted to truth.

Hope turned to look out on the trees, taking a breath.

"Finn. I can sit here and tell you that everything will be alright and that you will feel better. And you will. In time." Hope paused and turned back in Finnick. "I don't know what you are feeling. I can't imagine what all this is like for you. But I know that you're hurting. I know that you're mad at the world. I know that you want to cry and you want to scream on the top of you're lungs." Finnick smiled a bit at this. "We knew that before we started these tapes that anything would be on them. And I think, watching these tapes will bring us closer then ever to our parents. All of them."

Finnick was quiet for a few minutes, then he turned back to look ahead of him.

"Before these tapes, I always felt like I could never relate to my mother," Finnick explained. "I always felt like, no matter how hard I tried to understand what she was going through, I couldn't. It was like there was a invisible wall between us that stopped me from fully understanding."

Hope stared at Finnick, a sad smile on her face as he continued.

"I feel like I need to protect her. I feel like, if I don't, she will just break apart." Finnick turned to look Hope in the eyes. "I'm all she has left. And I feel like, by going behind her back by watching these tapes I'm..."

"You're disappointing her." Hope said.

Finnick sighed and nodded.

"Your mother loves you so much Finn," Hope took his hand in hers. "There is no way in the world you could disappoint her."

"She's so facile Hope," said Finnick. "I feel like, at any moment, I could just lose her."

It was at this moment, Hope realized the real reason way Finnick was the way he is. Why he is always joking and laughing.

It's keeping his mother alive.

The teens knew that something was _different_ about Annie. They just never questioned it. They loved her no matter what.

But now, seeing this side of Finnick, Hope understood that if it wasn't for Finnick always acting like a lovable kid, Annie would be lost.

Hope knew she had to tell Finnick about the next tape.

"Finn," Hope started, looking him in the eyes. "The next tape. It's... It's Annie's."

Finnick was quiet. He just stared back at Hope. After a few moments, Hope continued.

"Tessa said that we can watch her mom's tape first, if you want. Her's is after Aunt Annie's. It's-"

"No," Finnick cut her off. "No, we'll watch moms tape."

"Are you sure?"

Finnick nodded. "This isn't just about me. It's about you and Hunter and Tessa too. We said that we would watch the tapes in order and that's what we are going to do."

"That was before-"

"Before what Hope?" Finnick said. "Before we realized what they were really about. I just watched my fathers tape, now we're going to watch my mothers. Then we will watch Aunt Jo's."

Hope was silent. He was right after all.

"Besides," Finnick continued. "It's you and Hunter we should be worried about."

When Hope gave Finnick a confused look, he added.

"Both Uncle Peeta and Aunt Katniss were in the same games. That's not going to be easy to watch."

Hope nodded in understanding, not really knowing what to say.

It was going to be hard, and she knew that. But, she also knew that Finnick and Tessa were always going to be there for her and Hunter.

"Yeah, and then there's the mystery tape."

"Where everyone is back in the games again." Finnick added.

"Back in the _same_ games again." Hope corrected.

They both just sat there in silence. Both lost in their own thoughts when, suddenly, a smile broke out onto Finnick's face.

It was the first smile Hope's seen on his face since they started The 65th Annual Hunger Games.

"What?" Hope asked.

"How did you know I was feeling all those things?"

"You're kidding right?" Hope laughed. "Finn, I've known you forever. I think I have a pretty good idea of knowing what you're feeling."

"Oh really?" Finnick smirked. "Then what am I feeling now?"

Hope and Finnick starred each other in eyes, unknowingly to either of them that their faces where getting closer and closer.

Then, Hope smirked.

"You are really hungry aren't you?"

Finnick blinked, then smiled. "Wow. You really do know me."

Hope laughed as she stood up.

"Come one. Hunter and Tessa are cooking lunch."

"Wait, you left Hunter and Tessa in a kitchen, with sharp objects, to cook together?" Finnick said, standing up. "Are you sure that's wise."

Hope shrugged. "Guess we are about to find out."

Hope and Finnick started to make their way into the house when Finnick suddenly stopped her.

"Hope?"

"Yeah?" she asked, turning around.

Two arms wrapped around Hope, pulling her close to Finnick.

"Thank-you." He whispered.

Hope smiled as she hugged him back. "Well, we're kinda best friends."

Finnick laughed as he pulled out of the hug. He was about to say something when a loud bang interrupted him.

Both their heads shot in the direction of the kitchen.

"What was that?" asked Finnick.

"I don't know..." Hope started, then her eyes went wide and she turned to Finnick. "Hunter and Tessa."

They stared at each other for a few seconds, then took off for the kitchen.

Once in the kitchen, Hope and Finnick saw Hunter on the floor next to a broom, Tessa standing next to a now open window with a fire extinguisher in her hands and a burnt... _something_ sitting on top of the stove.

"What happened?!" Hope demanded.

"What happened?" Tessa set the fire extinguisher down on the counter and crossed her arms. "'ll tell you what happened. Hunter here got distraught and burnt our lunch."

"I wouldn't have got distraught if you didn't start arguing with me!" Hunter snapped, getting up of the floor.

"I wouldn't have started arguing with you if you just listened to me!"

"I did listen. And I didn't like your idea." Hunter crossed his arms.

"All I said is we shouldn't have chicken for lunch." Tessa glared. "We shouldn't have it for dinner. But now look at it!"

Before Hunter could say anything, Hope butted in.

"Wait. Stop. All this is about what we should have had for lunch?"

Tessa and Hunter both nodded their heads slowly and a booming laugh could be heard.

Everyone turned to see Finnick doubled over, face red, from laughing so hard.

"Guys really," Finnick said after catching his breath. "If you're gonna fright, at least fight over something worth fighting about."

No one was really paying attention to what Finnick was saying. They were all smiling over the fact that they were getting the old Finnick back. If that was possible after everything that has happened.

"Why don't you two go shower and clean up before you get sick," Tessa suggest. "Me and Hunter will take care of things in here."

"You sure?" asked Finnick. "I mean, you guys aren't going to break out the guns are you."

"No Finn," Hunter chucked. "We'll behave."

"Fine by me," Finnick shrugged. "I can use a nice hot shower." Finnick started to make his way out of the kitchen when he stopped and turned to Hope. "You coming?"

"Yeah, in a minute." Hope nodded.

"Alright." With that, Finnick made his way upstairs to shower.

"Well, it's good to see the old Finnick is back." said Tessa once they heard the shower running.

Hope shook her head. "I don't think the old Finnick will ever be back. Not after what he seen."

"It's alright," Hunter went up to his sister and put a hand on her shoulder. "We'll be there for him."

"The next tape is Aunt Annie's. How is he going to deal with that?" asked Hope, looking up at her brother.

"I don't know," said Hunter. "But I do know that we have to be there for him 110%. Like he would be there for us.

Hope nodded her head and just stood there as Hunter went to pick up the broom.

She then turned and started to make her way out of the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" Tessa stopped her.

"To shower," Hope pointed upstairs. "We said that you and Hunter could clean up down here."

"I said that for Finnick's sake."

"Should of said that." Hope smirked. "Oh, and I would like a nice sandwich waiting for me when I'm done." Hope the turned and ran upstairs, with Tessa yelling after her.

"Hope Ember! You are a dead girl!"

* * *

**I really like this chapter. It was fun to write:)**

**This is my second time editing it because I accidentally exited out of the tab without saving when I only had a few lines left. So any little mistakes, I'm sorry.**

**Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Don't forget to review.**

**Love you all to the moon and back, xox.**


	17. Ho Hey

_Ho Hey - The Lumineers._

"_A real secret is something which only one person knows." - Idries Shah._

* * *

Hope had never been so happy to step under the water.

It was almost like all the pain and grief and sorrow she felt over the past couple of days, was just washed away. Almost.

She tried not to let her mind wandered too much about... everything. Instead she tried to concentrated on the labels and the smells of the shampoo bottles and body wash as she scrubbed her body and hair.

She didn't know how long she stood under the stream of heavenly hot water. Five minutes. Ten minutes. Twenty minutes. She didn't know and, she didn't really care.

Finally, once the water had gone cold, Hope turned it off and stepped out into the icy air.

She quickly dried yourself off and threw on a pair of comfy pants and a T-shirt.

Once she had her hair brushed and decided to let it air dry, Hope left the bathroom and made her way back downstairs to the kitchen.

Once she entered the kitchen, she found Finnick, Hunter and Tessa already sitting at the table and eating their sandwiches.

When Hunter saw Hope walk in, he stood up and made his way to the counter, making Hope her sandwich.

"There you are," said Tessa. "We were about to go check and see if you drowned. We know you're not very good swimmer after all..."

"Funny." Hope said as she sat down at the table.

"Here you go." Hunter said as he placed the sandwich in front of her.

"Thanks." Hope smiled as she picked up her sandwich and took a big bite.

Lunch was quite. Which was really odd of them. Usually, Finnick would make jokes, Tessa would glared at him and told him how his jokes weren't funny, Hunter would try to keep the peace and Hope would tell her brother to stop and let them have fun.

Now, it was like a black cloud was over them.

All because of these stupid tapes.

A part of Hope blamed herself for all this. If she would have just let it go and listened to Peeta and Katniss, then none of this would have happened. Finnick would still be his cocky, childish, funny self. And, she had a feeling that once Tessa watched her moms tape, and her and Hunter watched their parents, that they would lose themselves also.

Then, the other part of her blamed their parents. If they would have just told them _somewhat_ of what happened, then they wouldn't be watching these tapes right now. If they would have just said, _Our childhood was horrible and we don't want you kids to grow up like that. We've seen bad things, things that kids should never have to see. We don't want that for you kids._ Then, they wouldn't be in this mess.

Or would they?

Then again, if they did tell the kids that, then their curiosity would get the better of them and they would look for answers, just like they did before they found the tapes.

"So," Hunter cleared his throat as he finished the last of his sandwich. "What... what are we _doing_ today...?"

"In other words, what tape are we going to watch?" Tessa added.

Hope looked at Finnick as he took a slip of his drink before putting the glass down and looking at the three of them.

"We'll watch my mom's tape." He said.

"Are you sure?" Tessa asked. "We can watch my mom's first if you-"

"No," Finnick shook his head. "I'll tell you two the same thing I told Hope. This isn't just about me. It's about the three of you too. Sure, I have to watch both my parents tapes back to back, but Hope and Hunter have to watch both their parents in the _same_ games." Finnick stopped and sighed. "I know you guys are just trying to help and that's why I love you all. But, what if same happens if my moms games that efforts Aunt Jo's, then we'll just be confused."

Hope, Hunter and Tessa were silent. They knew what Finnick was saying was 110% true. But, it didn't make it any easier.

Sure, Finnick reacted to his fathers tape way more than the others did, but it didn't mean that they weren't hurt and upset. And, they all knew Annie, so this one would be harder on everyone.

"Well," Hunter spoke. "If you are sure Finn..."

"I am." Finnick nodded, and you could tell by the sound of his voice that he was.

"Okay, well. It's around twelve thirty now," Hope explained. "We can watch this tape then take a break. Maybe catch up on some sleep. We have only gotten about four hours of sleep since yesterday."

"Sounds good," Hunter nodded. "Then, we can watch the last three tapes."

"So, we should be done the tapes by tonight than?" Tessa asked, as they all stood up and brought their dishes to the sink.

Hunter sighed. "I say late tonight but yes, we should be done by tomorrow morning."

"Good." Finnick mumbled.

They started to make their way towards the living room, but Hope grabbed Finnick by the arm as Hunter and Tessa walked on.

"You still sure about this?" Hope asked, letting go of his arm.

Finnick nodded. "Yes Hope. I'm sure."

Hope sighed. "Alright."

"Hey," Finnick gently grabbed Hope by her upper arms, making her look at him. "Are you okay?"

"Of course, why wouldn't I be." Hope lied.

"Just because this is my mom's tape, doesn't mean that you wouldn't be upset and scared." Finnick told her.

"It's just... What if this tape... What if we find out the reason that..." Hope didn't need to finish. Finnick knew what she was talking about.

Finnick slowly lower his hands and stared to Hope.

After a long moment, Finnick spoke.

"Maybe this tape is the reason. And if it is, then I wouldn't blame her. if I went through what she did, and what dad had too..." Finnick sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "If we do find out, we'll help each other, right?"

Hope looked at him and gave a small smile.

"Well, I don't know if you know are not, but we're kinda best friends."

Finnick chuckled, then pulled Hope into a hug.

"We'll get through this Hope."

"I sure hope so." Hope sigh as she pulled back. "Come on, let's go get through this tape."

"Don't think they will get any easier, do you?" Finnick asked as they made their way to the living room.

"Doubt it. They'll get harder if anything."

Finnick knew the answer before he even asked the question, but that didn't mean that it made it any easier to hear.

When they reached the living room, they saw that Hunter had already put in the tape and was waiting for them to press play.

"You guys ready?" Hunter asked as Hope and Finnick took their seats.

"Let's do this." Finnick sighed.

Hope was starting to think that it was ironic they were met with a black screen every time they started a tape. The more tapes they watched, the darker their mood got.

_The 70th Annual Hunger Games _faded in across the screen in the same fancy, gold letters as the last two tapes.

"Five years later..." said Tessa.

"That would make Uncle Finnick 19 years old and-"

"Mom would be 17." Finnick said, cutting Hope off.

"Finnick." Tessa said suddenly.

"Yeah?" Finnick asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't yell, okay?"

Finnick, plus Hope and Hunter, looked at her confused, when they suddenly heard voices coming for the TV.

"You have to be kidding me!" Finnick yelled. "Seriously, how old are they?!"

On the screen, once again, was Caesar Flickerman.

"I really don't understand why you hate him so much." said Hope.

"Just look at him!" Finnick pointed towards the TV. "He looks the same as he did in Haymitch's games, which was 20 games ago let me remind you. The only difference is he's dressed in red now!"

"Well, I bit I know someone you hate more than him." said Hunter.

"Really? Please, tell me who I could possibly hate more than that-"

"Him." Hunter butted in and pointed at the screen.

Walking up on stage was the devil on earth himself. The man who started all this. The _snake_.

"President Snow." Finnick narrowed his eyes.

"Now we all hate him." said Hope, crossing her arms as President Snow started to go on and on about the History of the games.

"Well really, what is there to like." Tessa said.

President Snow was still going on and on with his annual history class, but really, the kids just tuned him out. After all, you could only less the the speech about how the Hunger Games started so many times.

_The Reapings_ then came across the screen and the teens could start to feel the tension in the air.

They all just sat there and watched as girl after girl, boy after boy got called forward to enter the games.

It was almost becoming their _thing_. To not talk while the other reapings were on and to wait until they got to.. whoever's tape they were watching.

Really, it was just their way of getting ready for what was to come, because once that name was called, they were once again thrown into this cray world, where they had to watch their parents kill and fight for their lives.

Again, it was kind of ironic really. The people who gave them life, who watched them grow, who told them not to hurt others and to always be respectful and caring to other people, were now on-screen in front of them doing the complete opposite.

Before they knew it, and not long after the Reapings started, District Four came across the screen in beautiful, gold lettering.

The second they saw those words, the tension in the room went up about ten times more.

"Guys. Look." Hunter pointed at the screen.

The others looked and saw Finnick sitting on the stage, staring straight ahead.

"Wow. You win the games and you get a front row seat to all the Reapings from then on." Tessa grumbled.

The teens watched as the woman on stage walked over to the glass bowl that had the girls names, and everyone held their breath. The past two tapes, the boy's names were called first, so they at least got a look on the other District Tribute first. Now, it was backwards.

The women reached in and pulled out a piece of paper. Then, she walked over to the middle of the stage and read out the name.

_"Annie Cresta!"_

The teens watched as a beautiful seventeen year old with long, dark flowing hair and sea green eyes walked up to the stage.

As Annie walked onto the stage, the teens saw her look at Finnick, who looked right back at her, giving her a small nodded.

"Do you.. do you think that Finnick will be helping her?" Tessa asked.

Hunter shrugged. "They could have the victors help the tributes. It makes sense. But, I don't know."

The women then walked over to the bowl that had all the boys names.

After she had pulled out a piece of paper, she walked over to the middle of the stage and read out the name.

_"Dylan Reef!"_

An eighteen year old boy, about 6'2 with dirty blonde hair and green eyes walked onto the stage and stood next to Annie.

As the tape went on to show the other Districts and Reapings, Hope looked over at Finnick, who was staring at the screen.

"Hey. Are you okay?" She asked softly.

It took Finnick a moment, but after a couple of seconds he sighed. "Yeah. I'm just... I'm trying to stay more calm than last tape. I just keep telling myself that she.. makes it out."

Hope could tell that Finnick wanted to say _makes it out, ok_. But, he couldn't add the ok, because they didn't know if she did make it out, _ok_.

* * *

**Sorry for the loonnggg wait everyone! But I'm back!**

**I was gonna update Monday, but my Spring/Easter break started yesterday, so I had four tests this past week + test day for skating.**

**But, I'm on break now, so I will be able to write more:)**

**Thank you to everyone who has reviewed/favorite/followed this story! It means so much to me3**

**Also, if you are a fan of The Vampire Diaries, check out my new story "Angel With A Shotgun" - Chapter One coming April 4th!**

**Love you all to the moon and back, xox.**


	18. Heartless

_Heartless - The Fray._

"_They didn't just live with secrets. Secrecy surrounded their entire lives." - Anthony Horowitz._

* * *

Now, normally, for any other kids watching this tape, or these Games in real life, they would be on the edge of their seats.

If it were kids from the Capitol, they would probably be cheering, clapping, jumping up and done even.

If it were kids from the Districts, they would probably be hoping that their family, friend, or neighbor would make it home.

But for Finnick Odair Jr, Tessa Foss and Hope and Hunter Mellark, well, they had just watched two games in under 10 hours.

Even though it was only two tapes, they knew what was going to come and when.

After watching all the Reapings of Annie's tape, it was time for _The Tribute Parade_.

And, just like other tapes, they watched all the tributes, including Annie and Dylan, come out in way too much costume, waving at the crowd with big, fake smiles on their faces.

"75 years." Tessa said suddenly, falling back on the couch. "How can someone sit there and watch these games for 75 years?"

"Tessa. I think very few people have actually watched 75 of these games." Hunter informed her.

"I know that." Tessa glared at him."

"I know what you mean," Finnick sighed. "We've only watched two of these tapes and it fells like they're on repeat."

"The only thing the changes are the people and the Arena." Hope added.

They all sat back and watched as _The Scores_ flashed across the screen and they went through every Tribute, giving them a bloody number.

The teens didn't say one word as they went down the list of people. Not even when it came to Dylan, who got an eight, and Annie, who got a six.

"Can this get anymore boring?" Finnick grumbled, resting his head on the back of the couch.

Hope, Tessa and Hunter looked at him, shocked. This was a big change from the Finnick a few hours ago.

"Why are you staring at me?" Finnick asked, not lifting his head or opening his eyes.

"It's just.. I don't think any of us really thought you would..." Tessa tried to explain, but couldn't.

"This is just a big change for the Finn who watched the last tape to now." Hunter said softly.

Again, to their surprise, Finnick chuckled.

"What?" Hope raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing." Finnick lifted his head and smiled before sighing. "I just realized that it's going to do no good to be in a bad mood about my moms games. She makes it out, and that's all that matters. With my dads, I think it was something to do with the fact that I never met him before and the first time I really see him, he is in a game fighting for his life..."

"You don't have to explain Finn," Hope smiled softly. "We understand."

"Besides, I agree with you 100%," Tessa crossed her arms. "It is getting so boring."

This time, Hope, Hunter and Finnick laughed.

_The Interview_ came on the screen and, once again, the teens went quiet.

Male after male. Female after female. This happened three times. The teens just sat there, listening as teens between the ages of 12 and 18 sat on a stage, chatting, laughing, making jokes.

"Can this be anymore fake." Tessa grumbled.

"Well, what put you in a bad mood?" Hope asked, crossing her arms.

"You mean because the fact that we are watching tapes where our parents kill other people," Tessa glared at her before sighing. "It's just, how can the Capitol people, if you can call them that, sit there and not see that the kids are feeling horrible."

"Tessa, like you said, this is the Capitol people." said Hunter. "They like sitting there watching kids get killed. As sick as it sounds, it's like Christmas for them."

"Thanks Hunt, you just ruined Christmas for me." Hope glared.

"But he's right." Finnick nodded. "The Capitol freaks get off from watching this."

"Finnick." Tessa and Hope groaned.

"Really Finn. Really?" Hunter raised an eyebrow.

Finnick just shrugged. "Nine chance out of ten it's true."

"Yes, but you didn't have to say it!" Hope told him.

"Let's just get back to the tape." Hunter shook his head.

"Yes. Because that's going to be so much more fun..." grumbled Tessa once again.

By now, and somewhere between all the talking, the male from District Three was called onto the stage and he was a few minutes into his interview.

They all sat there, listening for a few moments, until Tessa spoke.

"You know-"

"Tessa. I swear, if you say that this is boring, I'm hitting you so hard you will end up in the Capitol." Hope warned.

"Well, this is boring," Tessa smirked while Hope glared at her. "But that's not what I was going to say."

"Then what?"

"I think the reason that we are finding this so boring is because we just keep seeing the same thing over and over."

"We know Tess," Finnick leaded back into the couch. "We already said that."

But before Tessa could explain, Hunter jumped in.

"I get what you mean," he said. "These games obviously take a few days. The only thing we see is the Reapings, the Tribute Parade, the Scores, Interviews and then the Games."

"So, what you're saying is that we don't see what goes on behind the scenes?"

"Actually Finn." Hunter nodded.

Before anyone could comment, Caesar Flickerman started to speak.

_'Now! Onto District Four! Please help me in welcoming to the stage, Miss Annie Cresta!'_

Annie walked out on the stage in a gorgeous ocean blue dress that was flowy and went to her knees. She, unlikely the rest of the tributes, came out with a small, genuine smile on her face. Unlike the big fake ones that everyone else wore.

"She looks..."

"Beautiful." Finnick smiled, cutting Hope off, not that she mind.

They watched and listened as Caesar and Annie laughed and talked. It was a pretty normal interview. Caesar was just asking the basic questions. That is, until it got to the end of the interview, with only a little less than a minute left.

_'So, Miss Cresta. I, and I know the rest of us, have noted that you are pretty attached to your Mentor, Mr Finnick Odair. Tell me, what is your relationship?'_

"He can't ask that!" Finnick yelled, glaring at the screen.

"I'm pretty sure he can." said Hunter, then started to explain himself when Finnick fixed his glared at him instead of the screen. "I'm not taking their side or anything, I'm just saying that I'm pretty sure they, he, doesn't have a rule book to follow."

Finnick seemed to calm down a bit, but he still glared at the TV.

They watched as Annie tried to come up with an answer, but she just couldn't.

"This is going to be good, or bad." said Hope.

"How?" Tessa asked.

"Her not answering will make some people believe that she doesn't even know what they are, or some people will think that she just doesn't want to answer, think that her and Finnick are together, then use it against her."

Everyone was quiet as they thought this over. It made sense too. Those Capitol idiots would use anything against you.

"Wow Hope," Hunter smiled, trying to break the silence and tension. "I didn't know you could be so smart."

"Shut up Hunter." Hope throw a pillow at his head.

There was a loud buzzing sound, and it looked like Annie let out a breath.

_'Looks like we'll have to wait for that answer.'_ Caesar smiled as him and Annie stood up.

Annie walked off the stage and Dylan walked on.

The teens didn't really pay much attention to Dylan's interview, or the rest of them for that matter. They found it easy to not feel so bad about a person getting killed if they knew less about them.

All to soon for they liking, the words _The Arena: Day One _came across the screen.

"Well, here we go." Hope sighed as Finnick tensed up next to her.

"I wonder how long this boring mood to going to last now." mumbled Tessa.

"Not long." Hunter said as he sat back in his chair.

The countdown started and all the tributes stood on their plates, getting ready to take off.

While the countdown continued, the kids got a chance to, somewhat, look at the arena.

It was beautiful. Just like the others. Beautiful and deadly. This arena looked somewhat like Finnick's arena, only instead of a jungle, there was gorgeous trees and flowers all around. And, from the glimpses that the teens got, they could see a deep blue, amazing river weaving in and out of the tall, green trees.

"And again, the arena looks beautiful." Tessa said, crossing her arms.

"I wonder if the arena looked ugly, would that mean a less violent games." Finnick gave a nervous chuckle at his own joke.

Hope, Tessa and Hunter all shared a look. This was not good.

All to soon, the countdown hit zero and the tributes took off.

Fortunately, Annie was able to make it in and out of the bloodbath without getting attacked. She also managed to grab a small bag and knife.

"Good. She made it in and out fast." Hunter nodded.

"If we are right about Finnick helping Annie, then he obviously told her to get in and out as fast as possible." said Hope.

"At least she made it out ok." Finnick breathed.

Too bad he spoke to soon.

Annie started to run towards to trees. And, just like Finnick in his games, Annie stopped right at the tree line. But, it wasn't because she just wanted to turn around and look. It was because of the blood curdling scream that was heard throughout the arena.

"What was that?" Hope asked, her voice shaking.

"I.. I don't know." answered Tessa as she pulled her knees to her chest.

They all didn't have a good feel about this.

Slowly, Annie turned around. And when she did, her eyes went as wide as baseballs.

Annie, and the kids, unfortunately looked just in time to see the male tribute from District Two raise the axe he managed to grab high in the air and come down right across Dylan's throat, make bright red liquid go everywhere.

No one spoke.

They were all looking at the screen but they weren't watching. Hunter didn't even bother to pause the tape.

They sat there for what felt like forever. Their brains not really coming to terms with what they just watched.

"I..." Finnick cleared his throat. "I think I know why mom never made it out of the games ok."

Hope hugged her knees to her chest and put her head on top of them.

"I don't know how much more of this I can take." she mumbled as Finnick gently rubbed her back.

"We'll finish this tape," Hunter said softly. "Then we'll take a little break."

"A little break?" Tessa looked at him like he was insane. "We just watched someone get decapitated. We are going to need a little more than a _little_ break."

"Let's just get this tape over with." Finnick told them.

The other three were pretty amazed at how well him was taking this.

"Finn, don't take this in a bad way, but you are taking this pretty good." Hope told him, lifting her head.

"I just keep reminding myself that my mother is fine and just a few houses away." Finnick said, looking out the window. "And as bad as it sounds, this tape was years ago. Dylan is resting peacefully now knowing that these games are no more."

Tessa and Hunter shared a look as Hope smiled at Finnick, silently thanking him.

"Well, let's get finish this tape and be one step closer to being done." Hunter said and they all turned back to the screen.

If there was one good thing they all could say about the Games after the decapitation of Dylan, was that they didn't have to watch very many more people get killed.

But, as the games continued on, they all noted one thing, where was Annie?

"Where is she?" Hope asked, the TV flicking for one tribute to the other.

"Probably hiding." said Hunter. "She just watched her partner... get killed. I don't think she would like a camera in her face at the moment."

"Well, on a good note. The games have gone boring." Tessa said.

"And how is that good?"

"Because it means that nothing is happening. No one is getting killed, or running from someone. Everything is boring."

"But that also means that the Capitol monkey's won't be happy," Hope said. "They need people getting killed. That's what these games are for."

"In other words, they are planning something big." Finnick said, not taking his eyes off the screen.

"And it's going to happen very soon." added Hunter.

And both boys were right. Not even a day or two later, which, thanks to the Capitol, only felt like a few minutes because nothing was happening, all the tributes suddenly stopped in their tracks and stood still.

"What's happening?" asked Tessa.

"I'm guessing the Capitol has made up their mind on what they want to happen." Hope answered.

Then, suddenly the ground started to shake violently and a big bang could be heard all over the arena.

"An earthquake?!" Finnick yelled. "That's their big idea?"

"I don't think that's their only idea." Hunter said. "There was a big bang somewhere."

"So, you're saying that there is something else on top of the earthquake?" Hope raised an eyebrow.

Hunter nodded.

"Great. Now I'm confused." Tessa narrowed her eyes at the screen.

They weren't the only ones confused. The 17 tributes all looked around, trying to figure out what was going on will trying to stay standing.

suddenly, a scream could be heard all around, coming from a 15-year-old girl from District Six.

A giant blue wave ripped through the forest, followed by another, and another, and another.

"A tsunami?" Hunter raised an eyebrow. "So the big bang had to be the dam collapsing."

"Well, this is just great," Finnick grumbled. "How the hell does, did, mom make it out of this?!"

"Really? I don't understand why you are all upset about this." Hope said, looking at them all.

"What do you mean?" asked Tessa.

"This is a good thing!"

"How is this a good thing Hope?" Hunter rolled his eyes at his sister.

"Because! Annie can swim!" Hope smiled. "Think about it. District Four. Fishing. You grow up in the water."

"She's right." Finnick smiled. "You basically learn to swim before you can even walk."

"Exactly! In other Districts, I'm guessing especially back then, there was no time for learning how to swim."

"So, Annie will win this by, at least being the best swimmer?" Tessa also smiled.

"Guys, let's not get our hopes up." Hunter told them. "Yes. Aunt Annie makes it out alive, but it can't be that easy."

"Stop being a joy kill Hunter." Hope rolled her eyes. "Have a little faith."

Hunter glared at his sister before he turned back to the screen.

They watched as tributes ran to take cover. Some were smart and climbed to the top of a tall tree. Some making it, some not, getting ripped away by the wave. Some were not so smart and just tried to out run the wave, which obviously didn't work.

Then, for the first time in a long time, the screen showed Annie, who was already sitting in a tree, watching as the waves moved passed her.

"At least we know she's okay." Hope sighed.

"Alive," Finnick said, not taking his eyes off the screen. "At least we know she's alive."

The other three didn't say anything. They all knew what he meant. She was alive, but not okay. How could she? She watched her partner, maybe even her friend, get decapitation. The teens would be more worried if she wasn't shaken up.

They knew something wasn't right with Annie by the way she was shaking. And if she wasn't shaking then she was just staring into the distance randomly, or covering her ears and closing her eyes, as if she was trying to block out the world.

"How did she make it out?" Tessa asked softly.

"She's still... _there_," Finnick replied, still not looking away from the screen. "She knew to climb up the tree when she saw the waves coming. She's not all there, but... something must be keeping her from losing herself all together."

Hope and Tessa shared a small smile. The boys may not realize it, but they did. Call it a girl thing, but they knew that Finnick had to be the one thing keeping her all there. Even though they never even seen them on screen together. They just knew.

They sat in silence as they watched the water get high and high.

They was as Annie had to jump out of the tree and into the water, because it got to high, and they watched as people, kids, got taken away by the blue monster.

Only a little over half an hour passed, but it felt like a lifetime. By now, most of the tributes, including all the Career Tributes, had drowned. And Annie was still going strong.

The camera showed Annie swimming. She pushed herself to go faster and faster.

"Why is she swimming so fast?" Hope asked. "Its not like there is anywhere to go."

"Besides that bit or land." Hunter smiled, pointing at the screen.

"That doesn't make sense." Finnick shook his head. "They wouldn't just put a random bit of dry land there. There has to be something more to it."

Then, the teens saw something in the distance.

"Don't think it could be anything dangerous. Do you?" Tessa asked.

Hope shook her head. "There is only what, not even five people left. Sooner or later they are going to get tired anyways and just give up."

"Two. Annie and one more. That's how many's left." Hunter told them. "And actually, that would be the one left there."

Swimming towards Annie, was a girl about the age of 18 with dirty blonde hair.

Annie, who turned around when she heard her coming, started to swim faster, and being from District Four, she easily went fast then her.

Suddenly, Annie came up a stop.

"Why is she stopping?" Finnick asked, but no one could answer him.

As the other girl swam past Annie, she gave her a glare, before just swimming on, trying to get to the bit a dry land.

Annie just floated there, eyes closed and hands lightly on top of the water.

"What's she doing?" Hope raised an eyebrow.

"She senses something." Finnick said softly.

"What? Are you going to tell us now that if fish folks from District Four have a six sense?" Tessa rolled her eyes.

Finnick looked at her with a raised eyebrow before looking at the screen.

They were just in time to see the wind pick up and the water started to move faster.

Annie's eyes snapped opening and she quickly turned around and swam to a tree that was only a few feet away from her.

She grabbed onto the branch for dear life and closed her eyes as the wind and water got stronger.

Finnick looked at Tessa and smirked.

"Alright fine." Tessa glared, crossing her arms. "You have a six senses."

"What's happening?" Hope asked.

"It's a whirlpool." said Hunter.

"How do you know that?" Tessa raised an eyebrow at him.

"Because there is a whirlpool right in the middle of the water." Hunter rolled his eyes.

"You know what. I give up." Tessa leaned back onto the couch.

The girl, who was stopped by now, turned around with wide eyes before she started to swim back towards Annie.

But, she didn't make it very far before the whirlpool pulled her back, making her spin around and around before taking her under.

"Well," Hope cleared her throat. "That's one way to win."

"At least mom didn't have to kill anyone." Finnick sighed, saying mostly to himself.

The water all went away, as if going to a drain, and Annie was placed on safe ground.

_'Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present the winner of the 70th annual Hunger Games!'_

A moment after those words were said, the screen went black.

"How do you feel?" Hope asked Finnick softly.

"Honestly. I feel better then I did at the end of last tape." Finnick told them. "I guess I kind of knew what it felt like so I just kept telling myself that she's fine and okay... now."

"Maybe this is good." Hunter said. "I mean, once all these tapes are done you both can clear the air. We all knew something was off with Aunt Annie, not in a bad way, and know you get to find out what."

"Yeah." Finnick sighed. "Maybe."

"Why don't we take a break?" Tessa said. "Catch up on some sleep."

"Something tells me we still won't get much sleep." said Hope.

"She's right." Hunter nodded, sighing. "Honestly, how are we going to sleep after that?"

"Mom still has nightmares." Hope added. "If the games is what caused them, and after watching them I say they are. She still wakes up in the middle of the night."

"I guess we should just watch the next one then." Finnick leaned back on the couch.

Hope, Hunter and Finnick turned to Tessa.

"If Finnick can get through both his parents tapes in a row, then I can watch my moms." Tessa said, crossing her arms.

"Alright then." Hunter stood up and walked over to the TV, taking out Annie's tape and putting in Johanna's.

Once he was back in his seat, he picked up the remote before turning to the others.

"Ready?"

They all nodded their heads and Hunter pointed the remote at the TV.

But right before he pressed play, they heard a voice come from the entrance of the living room.

"Now what do we have here?"

* * *

**Second time editing this. First time it wouldn't save so I had to refresh the page. So sorry for any little mistakes.  
**

**Also, I would like to thank _ReadtoWritetoLove_. I have told you this a lot over the past few days, but thank you for letting me know how you feel about how I'm updating. And if anyone else has anything you would like me to know, please feel free to PM me. I love to know how my readers are feeling, or even if you just want to talk, I love to talk too!**

**And thank you to a Guest, who gave me the idea for this chapter. She said that sitting through the same routine of watching the tapes was getting boring, so I changed it up a bit. And I kind of based this chapter off that. (The kids bored of watching the same stuff over and over) and I hope that whoever is visiting the teens (wink wink) will chance it up a bit.**

**Only 36 more views until 300! Let's try to get as close to 300 reviews as we can by chapter 20!**

**Also, feel free to follow my tumblr (especially if you're a TVD fan). Link is in profile. :)**


	19. Wonderwall

_Wonderwall - Oasis._

"_It's human to have a secret, but it's just as human to reveal it sooner or later." - Philip Roth._

* * *

Finnick, Tessa, Hope and Hunter.

They weren't by any means, bad or misbehaving kids.

Sure, they joked and had fun. But they would never disrespect their parents.

Ever.

To tell the truth, they didn't want to see their parents angry. Annie and James weren't so bad. But the others.

When Johanna gets mad, she starts bringing up every bad thing you had ever done, making what you did sound ten times worst. Katniss, what she gets mad, she gets _mad._ So mad, that sometimes she can't even talk or look at you. Peeta, he uses the guilty card. The way he looks at you and talks, makes you question everything and you just feel so bad.

But, nothing was worst then getting caught by Haymitch.

He just doesn't do anything. He goes with it. Which makes you feel bad, and in the end you just turn yourself in to the parents.

The only thing was, they didn't plan on turning themselves over to their parents any time soon.

"What are you four doing?" Haymitch asked, bottle in hand, as he leaned against the wall.

"Why are you here?" Hope narrowed her eyes.

"I believe I asked a question first sweetheart."

Hope just continued to glare at him, and no body answered.

Haymitch looked at the coffee table, narrowing his eyes when he saw the tapes.

"What do we have here."

No one made a move to stop him as he walked to the small table. They knew better to. If they stopped him, it would just make him more suspicious.

Once Haymitch reached the table, he bent down and grabbed a tape. His tape.

He stared at it for what seemed like forever, until he slowly lifted his head.

"The fabulous four is breaking some rules." Haymitch dropped the tape on the table and took a swing of his drink. "Never thought I would see the day."

"What are you doing here?" Hope repeated.

She wasn't going to answer any questions until he answer her one. For all they know, their parents could be on the way over.

"If you must know, I came to check on you all," Haymitch throw himself onto the only chair in the room, across from Hope and Finnick. "And by the looks of things, you should be grateful it's me and not your parents."

"Check on us? Why?" Hunter raised an eyebrow.

"It was your parents who were going to come over," Haymitch explained, bringing the bottle to his lips. "But, one of the workers called your father, said there was a leak from all the rain last night, so your father and James went to check it out."

"What about mom, Aunt Annie and Aunt Katniss?" Tessa asked.

"They were on the way over here actually." Haymitch told them. "Then Peeta reminded them that the train was coming today and they had to go get the supplies off it."

"And how did you end up coming to check on us?" asked Finnick.

"Wrong place, wrong time." Haymitch shrugged. Hope and Tessa glared at him and Haymitch sighed. "I was feeding the geese when Peeta and James walked up. Asked if I could check up on you four. Now here I am."

"Awesome." Tessa mumbled, crossing her arms and leaning back.

"My turn to ask questions." Haymitch took a swing of his drink before continuing. "How did you four get your hands on those tapes?"

Tessa, Finnick and Hunter pointed at Hope.

"Really guys?!"

"I should have known." Haymitch shook his head. "Now sweetheart. Where did you find those?"

Hope, with the help of Finnick, Hunter and Tessa, went on to explain what happened. How Hope found the box in her parents closet. Opening the box. Finding the outfit, drawing book, pin, the tapes. How they got their parents to let them stay at Peeta's old house. Everything up to that point.

"I knew this day would come." Haymitch sighed, taking a drink.

"What do you mean?" Hunter asked.

"I told your parents they should tell you about the Games early. But no. They thought it would be I good idea - for the best - if they kept it from you four." Haymitch leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "Well, here's how I see it. The world is cruel. Yes, it's better than it was, but it's still cruel. People are still fighting for their lives. Now in the Hunger Games way. But they're still fighting. You should have learned that a long time ago."

The teens didn't say anything, just sat there.

_At least Haymitch wanted to tell us._ Hope thought. And what he said was true. The world is horrible. Horribly beautiful. Like an Arena.

"What tapes have you watched?" Haymitch asked, leaning back.

"We watched Aunt Annie's, Uncle Finnick's, and yours." Hunter told him. "We are only watching these three, plus Aunt Johanna's, moms and dads, and the 75th games."

Haymitch sat there, deep in thought. They had already watched three tapes. They knew enough about what the Arena was about, but they didn't even know half of what the Hunger Games was about.

Now, a normal parent/adult, would run and tell the kids parents that they weren't listening, and going against their wishes.

But Haymitch wasn't a normal adult.

Making up his mind, Haymitch nodded. "And I take it you have a few questions."

Hope raised an eyebrow. "You're not going to tell our parents?"

"Sweetheart, did I not just tell you I wanted you to know." said Haymitch. "Besides, you started this, even watched three tapes before I got here, so this isn't my fault."

The teens honestly didn't know what to say.

Haymitch was going to stay, not go tell their parents. He was going to stay, answer all their questions, watch the tapes with them.

This was going to be a blessing or a curse.

"Okay, easy question first." Hope started. "Can you tell us what all the things that we found in the box, besides the tapes, mean?"

"Not really." Haymitch shook his head. "It's not my place to tell. I will tell you, however, the that outfit and pin and important parts in how this all ended. The drawings, well, they're drawings your father did."

"That's it? That's all you're going to tell us?" Finnick raised an eyebrow.

Haymitch nodded. "At least until after the tapes. Or when your parents find out what you are doing. And you know they will."

"Why was there only a... _'special celebration'_ for your Games?" Tessa asked, changing the subject from their parents.

"Quarter Quells mark the anniversary of the districts' defeat by the Capitol," Haymitch explained.

"So, even 25 years there is a celebration?"

Haymitch nodded. "In the 25th Games, the citizens of the districts had to vote on who would go into the Games."

"That's horrible." Hope said softly.

Picking who goes into the games yourself... People were sick.

"What happens between everything that we see on tape? Like, how do you get the Scores?" Hunter asked.

"Mostly training. And a lot of getting pulled and poked at." When they gave him a confused look, Haymitch sighed, drinking some of his drink, and explained. "Every tribute is giving a stylist, who has three assistants. They pull hair, poke at you, cake make-up on your face, dress you up. Get you ready for all the Capitol glory."

"I hate those Capitol monkeys even more." Tessa mumbled darkly.

Haymitch raised an eyebrow at her, but didn't question it. This was Johanna Mason's daughter after all.

"So that's how they get the Scores then," Hunter said. "From all the training."

"Yes and no. After a couple of days of training, each tribute goes in one by one to show the gamekeepers-"

"Gamekeepers?" Finnick asked.

"The Capitol monkeys, I guess as you call them, what they are made of. A special skill. Like, Katniss showed them... how _well_ she is with a bow her first time." Haymitch shook his head, a small smile on his face. "They then give the Tributes scores. The high the scores-"

"The high risk you're at." Hunter finished.

Haymitch nodded.

"Do the victors of past games help the tributes?" Finnick asked. He would love to know if his dad helped his mom.

"Yes," Haymitch took a swing of his drink. "Your father helped your mother." He told Finnick, who smiled, happy to know his father protected his mom. "And I helped your parents. Twice." Haymitch told Hope and Hunter.

"Speaking of. How come mom and dad both made it out of their Games?" Don't get her wrong, Hope was happy they both did. Otherwise she wouldn't be here.

"It will be explained in their tape. But let's just say that... _complications _came up. Which lead to more _complications_, and way more _complications_."

The teens looked confused but they knew that Haymitch wasn't going to say anymore on the matter. Not if it was explained in the tapes.

"Why does the last tape say Survivors, and not Victors?" Finnick asked.

"Again, explained in the tape. But, it was a... special celebration."

"What was the special celebration?"

Haymitch looked at Tessa, then at the other three.

"I could tell you know, or you can wait until that tape." Haymitch told them. "Besides, I'm sure you kids are smart enough to figure it out."

"Of course!" Hunter said suddenly, making Hope, Tessa and Finnick jump.

"What?" Tessa asked.

"Just look at the survivors. Finnick Odair, Johanna Mason, Peeta Mellark, Katniss Everdeen..."

"They're all Victors." Hope said.

"So, that means that the special celebration, had to have something to do with the Victors." Finnick said.

"Can they do that?" Tessa looked at Haymitch. "If you were in the games once, shouldn't you be able not to go in again?"

"It was like that." Haymitch told them. "Before this Games, victors just Mentor the tributes. Which was still just as bad."

"Then how come-"

"No more questions on that tape." Haymitch finished off his bottle, before standing up. "I'm guessing it will be explained with the last two tapes. Now, I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?" Hunter asked.

"To get another bottle. Or a few. I'm gonna need them if we're watching those tapes." Haymitch told them, walking out the door.

They waited until they heard the door to the basement cellar open then close again before they started to talk.

"Do you guys believe him?" Finnick asked.

"What's not to believe?" Tessa shrugged. "He answered all our questions. He even said that he wished we knew about all this sooner."

"I agree with Tessa," Hope nodded. "If he was going to tell our parents, he would have done it by now."

"So, it's a good idea to let him watch the tapes with us?" Finnick asked, looking around at the others.

"I don't know. Maybe, maybe not. But, this way, we'll have someone who knows all about this stuff watching with us. If we have questions, he can answer him."

"That's if he doesn't get drunk and pass out before the middle of the next tape." Tessa crossed her arms.

"You'd be drinking too if you were me."

The teens turned and saw Haymitch walk back in the room, with about four bottles.

"Actually, I'm surprise you haven't started yet, watching three tapes in what, not even half a day." Haymitch shook his head as he sat back down.

"We're all under 17." Hunter reminded him. "And the legal age is-"

"Do you know what age I was when I started drinking?"

"I'm gonna say, young." Hope smirked.

Haymitch didn't answer, he just took a swing of his drink.

"Should we start the next tape?" Finnick asked after a few moments of silence.

"Who's the next tape anyways?" asked Haymitch.

"Aunt Johanna." Hunter said he reached for the remote.

"Oh, Johanna. Still knows how to surprise people even to this day."

"What do you mean?" Tessa asked.

"Well, she had you. That was the biggest surprise of them all. I mean, Johanna, as a mother? Never thought I would see the day."

Tessa glared at him, but before she could speak, Hunter cut in.

"Why don't we watch the tape? I'm sure it will be explained then."

Tessa didn't say anything, she just turned to the TV, glaring and arms crossed.

Hunter looked around the room at everyone, then he lifted the remote and clicked play.

_Here we go_. Haymitch thought as he took a long swing of his drink.

* * *

**Not the longest, but I had fun writing it. Now, can I just say... HOLY CROW! I asked to get as close to 300 reviews as possible in a week. And I went from 264 to 297! That's amazing! I love you all so much!**

**You guys mean so much to me. I LOVE ALL MY READERS! Let's give over 30 reviews every week, haha! :)**

**Until next week... 3**


	20. Sweet Dreams

_Sweet Dreams - Emily Browning._

"_Secrets press inside a person. They press the way water presses at a dam. The secrets and the water, they both want to get out." - Franny Billingsley._

* * *

Tessa Foss was proud to say that it took a lot to surprise her.

She could count on less than one hand the number of times someone managed to get something passed her.

Nothing. Not one thing could surprise her.

That was until now.

Hope, Finnick, Hunter, Tessa and, now, Haymitch sat and watched as, once again, The Hunger Games was explained and the _Reapings_ started.

Well, really. The teens _somewhat _watched. Haymitch just sat there, drinking his drinks and mumbling about how it was a bad idea to watch these tapes.

The four didn't even pay to him, for a few reasons.

One. This is Haymitch. He was drunk and mumbling before they even pressed play on the tape. And two. They knew it was a bad idea to start watching the tapes.

Now. We can go on and on about how the Reaping was horrible, which it was. And how when they got to District Seven, they watched as their Aunt, mother and 'friend' (if that is what Haymitch calls her), got picked for the Games. Along with a 14 year old, blonde hair, brown eyed boy by the name of Kenny.

But, the thing that took Tessa by surprise, was her mother.

When Johanna's name got called, the camera cut to her face. They saw her standing there, tall and strong. Like the Johanna they all knew. But that look was only there for a moment, for not even a second later, a different emotion took over.

An emotion that the teens never seen on Johanna's face before.

Fear.

A seventeen year old Johanna walked up to the stage, head down low, face hidden by her coal-black hair. She walked on the stage, arms crossed over her chest, as if protecting herself.

Tessa just stared at the screen. Speechless.

"Tess?" Hope asked softly. "You okay?"

"That's... that's my mom?" Tessa said, not looked away from the screen. "But.. how..."

"I'm sure it's explained later doll." Haymitch answered, taking a sip from the bottle. "But, let's just say, your mother is a very good actor."

"That's not my mom." Tess shook her head. "That's not... It just can't be. Moms nothing like that."

"Listen." Haymitch sighed, leaning forward. "When you watched the other tapes, was Annie acting like she does now? Was I acting like a different person?" When Tessa, or the others, didn't answer, Haymitch continued. "The games... people change, you four know that. But, what people don't know, is somethings the tributes don't change in the games, they change before that games."

"What you're saying is that people act like a different person in the games, on purpose?" Hunter raised an eyebrow.

"You got it." Haymitch nodded, leaning back, taking another sip.

"Why? Why would she _change_?" Tessa asked.

"To hid who she really is." Hope said, looking at Haymitch who nodded. "To hid her strengths and weakness."

"It's just... It's..."

"Tessa. It's fine. We understand." Hope gave her a small smile.

Finnick didn't say anything. He knew what she was going through. And as much as Hope and Hunter tried to help, they didn't know. Not yet anyways.

To see your parents, a person you thought you knew all your life, be a different person. Someone who was a stranger. No words can describe it.

After watching all the Reapings of Johanna's tape, it was time for _The Tribute Parade_.

"Haymitch, can you please explain why the Capitol has to have a parade to show off all the tributes." Finnick asked.

Haymitch looked at him for a moment before bringing the bottle up to his lips and saying,

"Because the Capitol is full of horrible, sick people."

"That explains it." Hope shrugged, crossing her arms.

They watched as tribute after tribute, male and female, came out dressed up, big fake smiles on their faces and waving at the crowd.

The teens and Haymitch didn't really pay much attention to the tributes, or the parade.

The reason the teens didn't was the same as when they watched Annie's games. They didn't want to _remember_ any of the tributes. It was just to hard.

Haymitch, however, was really watching the tape from the bottom of the bottle. In fact, the teens would be surprised if he even knew _who's_ tape they were watching.

The only sound, besides the TV, that could be heard was Tessa when she mumbled to herself about how much she didn't believe that that was her mom.

And really, they couldn't blame her.

On screen, was Johanna. But it wasn't their Aunt Johanna. The Johanna they knew would be standing up tall and strong if she was in that stupid parade right now. She would have a hard look on her face and she wouldn't be waving one bit. She may even have giving the finger.

This Johanna, she just stood there. Shoulders were down, a small smile on her face and the same look of fear in her eyes.

Really, Hope, Finnick, Hunter and even Haymitch was surprised with how well Tessa was taking all this. They would of thought that she would be yelling her head off right now about how stupid all this was and how the Capitol made her mother look weak.

Instead, she was acting... calm. She was doing the opposite of what they thought she would be doing. And, as bad as it sounded, they were happy. They would rather have to deal with a calm Tessa then a yelling Tessa.

Little did they know, that was about to change when _The Scores_ came up onto the screen.

And as always, tributes were giving stupid scores about how well they could handle themselves.

"Haymitch," Hope asked suddenly. "What did you do to get your score?"

"What did I do to get my number nine?" Haymitch asked, mainly himself. "No. You know what, some things from these tapes have to stay a secret."

"Are you serious?"

"Sweetheart, if I told you everything about myself now, we would never have a reason to talk anymore." Haymitch smirked. "Besides, I don't know everything about you. Like, how you hid your diary in the loose floorboard under your bed."

"Haymitch! How-"

"So that is were you hid your diary then?" Haymitch's smirk grew bigger.

Hope didn't say anything, she just crossed her arms and glared at the screen while Finnick and Hunter laughed. Even Tessa smiled a bit.

Haymitch took a sip of his drink, smirk still on his face.

Little did Hope know. The number nine was his lucky number.

Then Johanna's picture came up on the screen, and everything went silent again.

They waited for a number to show next to her face. And when it did, it wasn't the number any of them thought it was going to be.

"YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!?" Tessa yelled, jumping out of her seat. "A FOUR! HOW THE HELL DID _MY MOTHER_ GET A FLIPPING FOUR?!"

"Tessa. Calm down-"

"Calm down? Hunter. My mother, Johanna, got a four!" Tessa turned to face him, eyes blazing. "While Haymitch, the drunk got a nine!"

"You'd become a drunk to if you were though what I did." Haymitch mumbled, bringing the bottle to his lips.

"Tessa. This could be a good thing." Hope turned to reason with her.

"How?" Tessa sat back down, but still had her arms crossed.

"Hope's right." Finnick agreed. "Think about it. The higher the number, the more likely you are to be killed off first."

"Or they will kill off all the lower numbers first to just get rid of them." Tessa grumbled.

"Let's just go with what the lovebirds said and keep watching." Haymitch rubbed his temples. He really wasn't it the mood to listen to Tessa flip out and start yelling again.

No one said anything, they all just turned back to the TV and continued to watch the Scores. But, Tessa still had her arms crossed and Hope and Finnick were glaring at Haymitch for calling them "lovebirds". Though not as much as they should...

_The Interview _faded in across the screen and they watched and listened as male tributes and female tributes were called on stage and acted like a different person, and _happy _person, for a few minutes.

It didn't take long, or at least it didn't feel like it took long, before they got to District Seven.

Before, the teens were surprised when they saw Johanna with fear in her eyes. When she was scared.

Now, the teens were surprised when they saw Johanna walk onto the stage in a beautiful floor-length, forest green dress with her hair in a wavy updo.

Johanna was not a person for dresses and makeup and dressing up. So this was a real shock.

"That can't be her..." Tessa said softly, going from yelling to being calm again.

"Just me. It is doll." Haymitch told her.

Caesar Flickerman stood up on-screen, big smile on his face and dressed in bright yellow, which made Finnick groan.

"What's your problem?" Haymitch raised an eyebrow.

"He hates him." Hunter nodded at the screen.

"Who? Caesar Flickerman?" Finnick nodded, glaring at the TV.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Haymitch started to laugh.

"What? What's so funny?" Finnick crossed his arms. "He's just so annoying. Look at him, dressed in all one color. Big fake smile-"

"It's not that." Haymitch shook his head. "Your father hated him too."

Finnick's face lite up. "Really?"

"Oh yes." Haymitch took a swig from his bottle. "I'm surprised he didn't punch that man in the face. He hated him so much. Especially after what he asked Annie."

"The question about her and Finnick?" Hope asked.

"That's the one. I have never seen your father so made in my life."

Finnick smiled. He always loved hearing things him and his father had in common, even if it was that they hated the same person.

By this time, Johanna and Caesar were now sitting side by side and the questions had started.

Just like every other interview, he started off with the basic questions. And as Johanna gave out her answers, in made the teens, mainly Tessa, wonder who Johanna really was?

Was she this soft, shy girl? Or was she really the strong women they all know now?

Just like Annie's interview, it seemed like Johanna was going to be in and out fast and easy. No hard questions asked.

But, also just like Annie's games, there was only a minute left to the interview and Caesar decided to ask his last question.

_'Now. Miss. Mason. I have to say, everyone started to talk about you when they saw that you got the lowest Score this year. How do you feel about that?'_

"I don't know. Can you tell me how you feel with a black eye?!" Tessa yelled at the screen.

"Tess. He can't hear you. And you can't punch him." Hunter told her.

"I know." Tessa rolled her eyes. "It just feels good to yell at something."

They watched as Johanna's eyes narrowed and, for a second, they saw the real Johanna.

_'Well, if I told you that, then what else would we have to talk about. Besides, _if_ I make it out alive, you'll be able to know then.'_

Then the buzzer went of and Johanna walked off stage.

"There she is!" Finnick smiled. "There's our Aunt Johanna!"

"Of course she would answer that question like that." Hope rolled her eyes, but had a smile on her face.

Tessa smiled at the screen. _That_ was her mother.

"It may sound like a good answer now, but it wasn't back then." Haymitch told them.

And just like that, the smile feel of Tessa's face.

"What do you mean?" Hunter asked.

"A lot of the tributes thought that she was just acting tough." said Haymitch. "They gave her a hard time when she got off stage. Told her that no matter how hard she tried to act tough, she was always going to be weak."

"So she punched them, didn't she." Finnick joked.

Haymitch shook his head. "At one point it seemed like she was even going to cry."

Now Tessa was even more confused.

Who the hell was the women? Cause her mother crying?

Tessa didn't even think her mom could cry...

Once the interviews were over and done with, _The Arena: Day One_ faded in across the screen.

They saw, just like even other game, all the tributes in a circle around the Cornucopia, the countdown counting down to zero.

Tessa had a million questions running though her head at this point. The main one being;

_Who the hell really was her mother? And why was she acting like this?_

_How in the world did she make it out..._

* * *

**For some reason, this one killed me to write. But I hope you all still enjoy it!**

**Thank-you all so much for the reviews/faves/follows. You don't understand how much they mean to me!**

**Also, if you seen the note I posted before this chapter (which is down now), I am trying to get a trailer made for this story. I tried making it myself, but I just can't find the right clips. So, if you know of any clips that would be good for this story, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.**

**Also, if you would like to make a Trailer yourself, please let me know. I would love to see what you guys come up with! I already have one person making one (If you would message me back - thechamberofmahogany) But I would love to have more!**

**See you all next week3**

**Love you to the moon and back, xox.**


	21. Arms

_Arms - Christina Perri._

"_Sometimes it's the smallest secrets that hold the most hope, the most fun, the most danger." - Suzanne Palmieri._

* * *

There are somethings that people just _know_.

The things that you can't remember how you learned about it or know it.

You just do.

Like when you read a book. Hope didn't know how, she just knew that, in the _Harry Potter_ books, The Marauders map reads the order of their deaths backwards.*

And when you watch a movie. Hunter is able to tell you every little fact there is about _The Avengers _and more than half of the information isn't in the movie.

While Tessa knew everything there was to know about _The OC_ and Finnick could answer pretty much every question you asked him about the _Pirates of the Caribbean_ movies.

Then, there was the things you knew since you were a kid and you can't remember how you learned them. Unless your parents told you.

Like, the alphabet. The colours and shapes. The numbers.

And if you didn't know your numbers by now, then all you had to do was watch six tapes about the Hunger Games in about two days and you would know them for sure. Thanks to the countdown.

When the countdown hit zero, all the tributes jumped off their plates and ran towards the Cornucopia, just like all the other games.

As Johanna ran off hers, she didn't even try to go to the Cornucopia. She just ran towards the trees, tripping over her feet a few times, but she made it.

Haymitch gave a chuckle before taking a slip of his drink.

"What's so funny?" Tessa glared.

"I, and I know other mentors have too, told our tributes to not ran into the bloodbath," Haymitch explained. "And the only two that I can think of that have listened is Peeta, which really isn't a surprise, and _Johanna_."

"And that's funny because..."

"Because it's _Johanna_."

Finnick, Hope and Hunter rolled their eyes, even though Hope and Hunter were now interested in their parents games, while Tessa continued to glare at Haymitch.

_Day One_ of the games passed by pretty fast. In the end 13 tributes were dead.

And the whole time, Johanna just ran. She ran away from everything.

"So that's my moms plan?" Tessa glared at the TV. "To just run from everything?"

"She has to have anything plan besides that Tess." Hunter told her. "This is your mom, Aunt Johanna, we are talking about. She has to have some big plan that she is working on."

Tessa didn't say anything, she just continued to stare at the TV screen.

They watched for "days" as tributes killed each other, and now and then, the screen would show Johanna being chased after by some made man. But she would always get away.

The whole time of watching the tape, Tessa never relaxed. She sat up straight with her hands rubbing up and down her legs.

The others watched her and the tape. Concerned. Not only was Johanna being a different person in the games, but Tessa was also being someone different.

Meanwhile, Haymitch just sat there, drinking his bottles. And at the rate he was going, he would soon be making another trip.

The games went by pretty quick, seen that most of the tributes in this game was under the age of 15. By now, it was day six in the Arena and there were only four people left. One of those four was Johanna.

The screen now showed Johanna walking through the trees, taking her time.

"Something is about to happen." Tessa said, not taking her eyes off the TV.

"How do you know?" Hope asked.

"I just know. Why else would the show _my mother_, someone who is _weak_, walking through the woods?"

And Tessa was right. At that moment, there was a loud bang, as if something hit the ground.

The screen showed Johanna looking to her right.

Johanna, and the teens and Haymitch, say trees, falling to the ground. They were just falling, as if someone was cutting them down. And the falling trees were making their way towards Johanna.

"Why do they do these things?" Hope asked as they watch Johanna running away from the trees.

"To make everything interesting," Haymitch glared at the TV. "They need to keep the people of the Capitol happy. Plus, they want to move to games along. Especially this close to the end.

"It's sick." Hope mumbled crossing her arms.

Johanna broke through the tree line and she was now at the edge of a field. And just as she broke through, so did the other three tributes.

"That was their plan then?" said Finnick. "To get all the tributes in one place so they had to kill each other?"

"Yup." Haymitch nodded, bringing the bottle to his lips and taking a drink.

Lucky for Johanna, the other three tributes didn't see her yet. She quickly hid behind one of the fallen trees at the end of the tree line.

"And of course, my mother hides." Tessa mumbled, crossing her arms.

The screen showed the three tributes fighting each other and, within minutes, one of them fell to the ground. Dead. Thanks to the 16-year-old boy with an axe.

Johanna started to slowly back up as the last two started to fight. But, she tripped over a fallen log and fell to the ground with a loud thud.

"You have to be kidding me?" Tessa yelled at the screen.

The two tributes heads snapped in Johanna's directions and they started to make their way towards her.

This is where Johanna changed. In her eyes, was fear one minute. Then, her eyes narrowed and the fear went away. Never to come back.

"What's happening?" Finnick asked.

"She's becoming Aunt Jo again." Hope smiled.

Johanna stepped into the field, glared at the two tributes. They were taken by surprise at first, but they quickly recovered and ran at her.

Johanna kicked the boy without the axe so hard in the stomach that he flew backwards.

She then started to fight the boy with the axe and he was so caught off guard that Johanna manged to grab his arm and twist it back.

Now, he knew what was happening and the two started to throw punches and hits.

Johanna manged to get behind the boy and quickly, she grabbed his head and twisted as hard as she could. Break his neck.

The boy fell to the ground, dead. The axe falling down next to him.

Now, with an axe, the other boy didn't stand a chance. They fought for only a few minutes until Johanna was able to drive the axe into his stomach, killing him.

The kids didn't know what to do or say. That was such a change in a little time that they didn't really know, or see, what was happening.

After a few minutes, Hope turned to Tessa.

"Tess? Are you okay?" She asked softly.

Tessa seemed to snap out of it now, and when she did, she quickly stood up and ran upstairs.

Hope looked at the three boys before standing up and following after Tessa.

Haymitch finished off his last bottle then looked at Hunter and Finnick, who didn't really know what to do.

"Well? Now what?"

Hunter cleared his throat and looked from Finnick to Haymitch.

"Maybe we should take a break..."

* * *

"How's Tessa?" Finnick asked as Hope walked over and sat down on the back deck next to him.

After they all decided to take a break, Hope went to talk to Tessa. At first it started off with Hope doing all the taking, then Tessa yelling, then crying onto Hope's shoulder.

Meanwhile, Haymitch went to tell their parents that they were being good and just watching movies. He said he would be back later to start the next tape.

Hunter was now in the kitchen, baking. Which is what he normally did to clear his head. It not only helped him, but others as well. And Finnick just had to get out of the house, so he decided to sit on the back step.

"As good as you'd expected." Hope shrugged. "She wanted to be alone for a bit. I think that tape took a lot out of her."

"I would say." Finnick agreed. "Seeing you mom go from a shy innocent girl to a murderer would do that to someone."

Hope sighed. "Finnick. This isn't something to joke about."

Hope was actually surprised with Finnick. He is here joking about everything when, not a few hours ago, they just watched his parents tapes and Finnick almost had a breakdown. You would think, that Finnick would know better than anyone to not joke about all this.

"Maybe some joking around is what everyone needs right now." Finnick turned to look at Hope.

"Really? Because I don't think joking is going to really help anything." Hope was getting angry now. What was wrong with Finnick? "Really Finnick. You out of all of us should know that joking about this isn't right.

"Maybe. But I am the only other one who actually watched their parents in the Games as of now." Finnick shot back. "I know what it feels like to see your parents on that screen."

"Really? Cause you're not acting like it." Hope snapped, then stood up to walk away.

"How would you know? You know nothing about what Tessa is going through."

Hope stopped and turned around slowly to see Finnick standing now, glaring at her.

"What?" Hope said, her voice dangerously low.

"We haven't watched Aunt Katniss' and Uncle Peeta's tape yet. You don't know what it feels like to see your parents in those games. To see them on that screen. To see them kill someone." Finnick told her, walking towards her slowly.

"Well. I'm sorry for trying to help my best friend. I'm sorry for helping you. Because I obviously have no idea what I'm talking about." Hope glaring, also walking forward.

"That's not what I'm saying Hope." Finnick sigh, closing his eyes.

The two were only a few feet apart now.

"Then what are you saying? Cause to me it sounds like I know nothing about what you and Tessa are going through just because I never watched my parents tape yet. Well, let me tell you something Finnick. I still had to watch my Aunt's and Uncle's on that screen. I still seen all their kills. And they may not be my parents, but I still love them just the same. I still know what it feels like to see someone you know, and love, act like a different person. I still-"

Hope's eyes went wide and she didn't really know what to do, or what was going on, as she felt Finnick's hands on her shoulders and his lips on hers.

To say Hope was shocked would be a big understatement.

Finnick Odair was kissing her.

It was in that moment, that both Hope and Finnick forgot about everything that was going on around them. They forgot about the fight, the Games, the reason they were where they were. They were in their own little world.

Finnick's hands made their way down to Hope's waist. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close as her arms wrapped around his neck.

In all honestly, Finnick just kissed her to get her to stop talking. Well, that was the reason at the time. He really did feel something for Hope, he just didn't know what. He was really expecting her to pull back and slap him. He wasn't expecting her to actually kiss him back.

After some time, they finally pulled apart, both gasping for breath.

"So," Finnick smirked after a few seconds. "Am I forgiven now?"

Hope glared at him and slapped him up the side of the head.

_At least nothing is weird between us_. Finnick though as he rubbed his head.

"I am sorry though. Seriously." Finnick told her. "I didn't mean that you were clue less. I just-"

"It's okay." said Hope. "I shouldn't have reacted the way I do. It's just..."

"What?" Finnick raised an eyebrow.

Hope sighed and walked over to sit down on one of the two deck chairs, Finnick followed.

"I'm scared." Hope told Finnick after a few minutes. "You and Tessa... honestly... your parents games didn't seem that bad. And, they were like a _normal_ Games. My parents... Mom and dad both made it out. Something had to of happened or changed for the both to come out alive." Hope turned to look at Finnick. "And I have a feeling that it's not a good change."

"Hope. I wouldn't tell you this unless I knew for sure that it was true." Finnick reached over and grabbed her hand. "Everything is going to be okay. I promise."

Hope was silent until she looked at him and smirked. "Even when our parents find out?"

"Okay. Everything will be okay _until_ our parents find out." Finnick smirked. "Then we are dead."

Hope laughed and she stood up.

"Come on. Let's head inside."

Finnick smiled and nodded as he stood up.

"But first," Finnick stopped Hope, who looked up at him. "Tell me. Am I good kisser?"

Hope gave him a playful glare and laughed as she lightly slapped him across the arm.

"Just so you know. I'm taking that as a yes."

"Come on you." Hope rolled her eyes and smiled. "I wanna see what Hunter's baking."

Finnick's eyes went wide. "Hunter's baking!? He better be making chocolate chip muffins!"

Hope just laughed as they both turned to walk back into the house when they saw Hunter and Tessa standing in the doorway.

"Well. If you two are trying to make me feel better," Tessa smirked. "It worked."

* * *

**Hope you guys like it! Especially you Hope and Finnick fans. By the way, I think we need a couple name for them. Any ideas?**

**Also, I just found out that jedikhaleesi added this story to her ****Community "Whaddya Want?"! Thank you so much! :)**

******Now, as you all know, it's the end of the school year. And that means exams. My exams start on the 7th of June (I got out of school on the 20th). So, As much as you all may hate me, this will be my last update until the 17th of June. I would update next week, but next Monday is a big pre-exam in Bio for me. I am sorry, but school does come first. ****Especially this time of year.**

**********In other news, thank you to luv2writefanficcandycane and thechamberofmahogany who are making trailers for this story! If anyone else would like to make a trailer, please PM me :)**

**********I'll see you all on the 17th!**

**********Love you to the moon and back, xox**


	22. Gone

**I fixed this chapter a bit because a few people pointed out that I explained the volunteering wrong. I added a few things in that part, but other then that nothing has changed with this chapter. Enjoy!**

_Gone - Olivia Broadfield._

"_All the secrets of the world worth knowing are hiding in plain sight." - Robin Sloan._

* * *

In all honesty, this wasn't the first time that Hope and Finnick kissed.

Yes. It was the first time they _kissed._ But they have shared a kiss before.

Hope wanted to bring this up to Tessa and tell her that really it was no big deal, but she knew just what Tessa would say.

Hope and Finnick kissed once when the four of them were joking around. Finnick thought he was tough and manly, and that nothing scared him. Joking, Tessa told him to kiss Hope and prove that he wasn't scared.

Hope, Tessa and Hunter all laughed because they never thought Finnick would actually do it. Which is what caught Hope by surprise when his lips met hers.

In the end, they were both disgusted with what had happened, which made Tessa and Hunter laugh harder.

Also, they were all between the ages of six and nine when this happened.

Plus, this kind of was a big deal. At least for Hope.

Saying that she was confused was an easy way of putting it.

First, she had to deal with everything going on with the tapes, which was enough to make any persons head flip upside down. Now, she had to deal with... whatever was going on with her and Finnick on top of that.

But, what confused her and scared her the most was how much she enjoyed the kiss.

Tessa was also going crazy over what happened, which is one of the main reasons way Hope didn't say anything.

Tessa was acting _normal_ and Hope didn't want to stop that.

So, Hope just sat on the love seat, sitting really close to Finnick, with her arms crossed over her chest as Tessa went on and on about what happened.

Meanwhile, Hunter sat next to Tessa with a look between annoyed and angry. Hope could only guess that that angrier was for Finnick. Hunter would never say it, but he was actually really protective of Hope, even if she was older than him. And obviously, his best friend making-out with his sister didn't sit well with him.

Speaking of Finnick, he just sat next to Hope. At first he was smirking, now he was just sitting there with his hands folded on his lap.

In Hope's mind, she kind of hoped that he was debating if he should hold her hand and put his arm around her shoulders, but decided not to because that would not sit well with Hunter at all.

This thought only made Hope more scared.

All in all, they were all in a very awkward spot at the moment. Beside Tessa. Who was still going beside herself and actually, you would of ever of known that she just watched a tape were her mother killed a number of people.

After what seemed like a lifetime, they heard someone knock on the door three times before it opened.

"Finally," Hunter sighed. "Haymitch is back."

"Good call, telling Haymitch to knock three times before coming in." Finnick said to Hunter.

"Yeah," Hunter gave him a glare before looking away. "Thanks."

Finnick shifted in his seat and Hope glared at her brother. She was about to open her mouth and say something to him when Haymitch walked in the room.

"Your parents think you are being good, meaning your parents don't know you kids very well, and I brought over more bottles of liquor," Haymitch held up two bags full of different bottles. "I'm going to need them if I'm going to make it through the next tape." Haymitch sighed as he fell back into his chair.

He looked around and seen the teens in their awkward state, having not moved when Haymitch walked in. He seemed to notice the tension in the room for the first time.

"What happened in here?"

Tessa's face broke into a bigger smile, if that was possible, and Haymitch got kind of scared. She shouldn't be smiling. Not after what she just watched.

"Hope and Finnick kissed."

At these words, Hunter tensed up more and Haymitch's face broke into a smirk.

Hope dropped in head in her hands. Everyone was make a way bigger deal out of this then it actually was.

It _was_ a big deal, but for Hope and Finnick, not Tessa or Hunter or even Haymitch.

"Well, looks like Finnick here is even more like his father," Haymitch reached into one of his bags and pulled out a bottle of liquor. "And Hope is not so much like her mother as we thought." Haymitch held his bottle out to the two of them and took a long sip.

"What did you tell the parents?" Hunter asked with his arms still crossed.

Yeah, he was really pissed.

"Someone's not to happy about the recent events," Haymitch commented but continued before Hunter could do more than glare at him. "Just that you four were watching movies and eating junk. All the things you kids do. I didn't tell them about any lip locking going on."

"What do they think you are doing then? Especially if you were walking around with two big bags of alcohol." Hope asked. She wanted to get off the subject of her... _love life._

"Sweetheart, when I showed up I already had a number of bottles in me. They didn't question anything."

"But you're acting pretty sober now...?" Finnick raised an eyebrow at him.

Haymitch shrugged. "Maybe I act more drunk than I actually am sometimes." Haymitch took a sip before pointing at Hope. "You don't seem very happy about what happened. What's the matter? He a bad kisser?"

"Okay. Let's start this damn tape already." Hunter stood up and marched over to the coffee table.

Even though Hope was angry at Hunter for the way he was acting at the moment, she secretly thanked him for the save.

Hunter picked up the tape with a glare on his face but it went away the second he looked at the tape.

"What is it?" Finnick asked and they all knew something was up when Hunter answered him and he didn't sound one bit angry or cold.

"_The 74th Annual Hunger Games._" Hunter read out, his voice shaking slightly.

The temperature in the room dropped about twenty degrees and everyone seemed to have forgotten about the kiss.

Tessa's face fell and it was like everything that happened over the past 12 or so hours come rushing back to her at once.

Finnick looked down at his hands and he remember what he said to Hope just a few moments ago.

_"You don't know what it feels like to see your parents in those games. To see them on that screen. To see them kill someone."_

It was 100% true and everyone in the room knew it.

Really, it shouldn't matter if they were watching this tape or not. They had already watched four other ones.

But, ever since that kiss... Finnick didn't want Hope to have to see her mother and father have to kill.

Now, here Hope was, sitting right next to him and he could feel her tense up.

He turned to look at her and saw she had her eyes closed and was taking a deep breath.

He didn't care at that moment if Hunter, his best friend, hated him for kissing his sister, he took Hope's hand in his.

She opened her eyes and gave him a small smile, which he returned.

"Well," Haymitch mumbled, taking a long drink. "It's a good think I brought two bags of alcohol."

That was another thing. This tape, even though the teens haven't watched it yet, it seemed different. This one also seemed to effort Haymitch the most, besides his own games. The teens were sure if he was here to watch that tape, he would need way more than two bags.

Something happened in this games. They knew it.

Hunter took a deep breath, slowly walking over to the TV. He pushed in the tape then walked back to his seat.

"Well," Hunter cleared his throat, holding the remote up to the TV and pressing play. "Lets get this over with."

Big, fancy, gold letters started to fade across the screen, reading, _The 74th Annual Hunger Games._

The tape started off _normal_. Just like every other tape.

Caesar and President Snow just talked about the history of the Games, which everyone knew why more than they would like.

The fact that the tape started off like this kind of made the teens feel a bit better. They knew that this tape was different, and they were scared at how.

Actually, Tessa, Hope and Hunter were sort of waiting for Finnick to say something about Caesar and how much he hated him and how he was dressed.

But he didn't.

And the feeling of knowing something horrible was going to happen came rushing back.

_The Reapings_ faded onto the screen, and the teens already didn't like how the games was looking.

Most of the tributes were over the age of fifteen, which meant that they all would do anything to make it out, and they would kill anyone to get out.

A number of tributes caught their eyes, mainly because when a certain person came up onto the screen, Haymitch would make a comment under his breath before taking a drink.

From District One, there was Glimmer. A seventeen year old girl with emerald-green eyes and blond hair. She looked like the mean girl at school and if you messed with her, you were in for it.

There was also Marvel, a seventeen year old boy you didn't really look that threatening with his light brown hair and green eyes. But, the teens never judge anyone by their looks anymore.

In District Two, was a fifteen year old girl Clove and an eighteen year old boy Cato. They both looked equally deadly and like they were born to kill.

District Five had a fifteen year old girl who reminded the teens of a fox, whose name was Finch.

District Eleven is when things started to get really tense.

There was an eighteen year old boy by the name of Thresh who looked like he could smash anything with his hands. But, he wasn't who the teens were interested in.

Rue, a twelve-year-old girl is who caught their attention with her thick dark hair and brown eyes.

Hope couldn't speak for the others, but when she saw Rue walking towards the stage, she couldn't help but think about Samara when she walked towards the stage in Haymitch's games.

As bad as it sounded, even if Hope didn't know who made it out, she just knew that Rue wouldn't. These games took the good out of the world and stole people's innocence. The Capitol monkeys would never let a twelve-year-old make it out.

All to soon, _District Twelve_ faded across the screen and everyone tensed up and Haymitch took a big sip.

Every moment they were waiting for something big to happen, something that made the Capitol monkeys let two people out alive. And they wouldn't relax until they knew what it was.

The mood did lighten, however, when Haymitch walked onto the stage, drunk, and ended up fall off the stage.

This actually made the teens laugh.

"Bit too much to drink, don't you think Haymitch." Tessa laughed.

"I'm like that every year." Haymitch glared at them. "Shouldn't you know that by now? You have watched four other tapes."

"We never really pay attention to the District's Reapings besides the one that the victor is in." Hunter shrugged. "Makes it a bit easier."

"But if you fall off the stage in every one," Finnick smirked, trying to lighten the mood. "I would have."

"Maybe I had a feeling that that year would be different." Haymitch mumbled, bottle to his lips.

The tension in the room was back.

Seen that this was the first District Twelve Reaping the teens have watched since Haymitch's, with was really 24 years ago, they were shocked when a women wearing a.._ unique_ and ugly outfit walked on the stage.

"Effie?!"

It wasn't the way that she was dressed that surprised the teens, they have seen and met her before, it was the fact that she was the... whatever their were called, for Katniss' and Peeta's game.

"What is she doing?" Hope asked Haymitch.

"She is the district escort." Haymitch answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I know that. I meant - District escort?" Hope raised an eyebrow.

"She not only calls the names, in that annoying voice of hers, but she leads the tributes around. Makes sure they're on time and all that stuff."

_Another person we know who is apart of these games_. Hope thought as she leaned back, crossing her arms.

Effie went on being her cheery self. She walked over to the glass bowl with the names of all the girls and pulled out a piece of paper.

The teens all knew the name that was on that small piece of paper but still, it felt like time had slowed down as Effie opened the paper and read out the name loud and clear.

_'Primrose Everdeen!'_

No one said anything as their stared at the screen, confused. Hunter lift the remote and clicked pause before they actually saw Prim.

"Umm, what?" Hope asked, confused, turning to Haymitch.

"If this Primrose had her name called, then how did Aunt Katniss get in the games?" Finnick asked.

"And who is Primrose anyways? She has the same last name as Aunt Katniss..." Tessa added.

"She's our Aunt." Hunter answered Tessa question.

"Aunt?" Tessa raised an eyebrow at him.

"We don't know anything about her." Hope told them. "Just that she is our mothers younger sister and she died a while ago. We don't know how. Mom never really talks about her."

"I never knew you had an Aunt." Finnick looked at Hope, who nodded.

"We had two Uncles too." Hunter said. "Uncle Puri and Uncle Miche. They're dad's older brothers."

Finnick and Tessa knew by the way he said _had_ that they were also dead.

"How come you never told us?" Tessa asked.

Hope and Hunter shrugged.

"It never came up." Hope said quietly.

"And your first question will be answered if you keep watching." Haymitch told them, wanting to get on with the tape to get it over with.

Hunter picked up the remote and pushed play.

The screen cut to Primrose and she was beautiful. With her long blond hair in two side braids and bright blue eyes, even though they were filled were panic and worry. The worst part, she only looked to be about twelve.

But, Hope still had a small smile on her face. This was the fast time she really got to see her Aunt. Sure, she saw that picture in her mothers locket. But it was different seeing the person actually move and talk.

The moment was soon ruined when they heard yelling coming from the screen.

It cut to Katniss, running in the middle of the boys and girls.

Really, she hadn't changed much. She still had the same long brown hair and gray eyes. Though back then, she never had all the scars that she has now. And her eyes never had the same haunted look in them.

"What does she mean by volunteer?" Hunter asked, turning to Haymitch as Katniss screamed out on screen.

Haymitch sighed. "You should pause the tape."

Hunter did as he was told and turned back to Haymitch.

"Volunteering is just that. You volunteer to take someones place in the games. Normally it is used in lower Districts when younger ones get picked and their older siblings take their place." Haymitch told them. "But it's mostly used in Districts with career tributes  
who think they have a big chance of winning."

"Then how come this is the fast time we are hearing about it?" Hope asked.

"It was used a lot at the started of these games." Haymitch explained. "Like I said, people would volunteer from their younger brothers or sisters. But, the Capitol doesn't really like the idea of volunteering."

"How come?" asked Finnick. "They made the rule."

"A lot of people use to say that the Reapings were rigged. The Capitol would pick the people who enter the games. At first, the volunteering rule worked for them. If they wanted someone to be in the games really bad, they would just pick their younger brother or sister. It 'made the games more interesting.'" Haymitch took a sip of his drink before continuing. "Over the years, people started to realize what was happening. Mainly because the ones who volunteered, if they were from lower Districts, wouldn't last long in the games at all. Three days at the most. People stopped volunteering."

"You mean until this one." Tessa nodded to the screen.

"What about the higher Districts?" Hope asked. "If the Capitol doesn't like the rule, then why do they keep volunteering?"

Of course they never noticed anyone volunteering before, then never payed enough attention.

This made them wonder what else they missed while watching these tapes.

"Career Tributes volunteer for the glory of being in the games. They don't care who gets picked, they will volunteer for anyone. No matter if they are blood or not."

"So. They go into these games thinking its an honor?" Hunter leaned back into his seat, crossing his arms. "That's sick."

Haymitch nodded taking another sip. "I'll tell you this, because Katniss loved her sister enough to volunteer for her, it was one of the things that makes this game so... different."

"Meaning..." Hope pushed on.

"Katniss is the first person to volunteer in a lower District in 28 years. Actually, she is the first to volunteer from District Twelve ever. The Capitol didn't like that." Haymitch told her.

"So, the Capitol is going to be keeping an eye on her then."

Haymitch nodded. "I'll tell you this now, and remember it. The Capitol, mainly President Snow, don't like to be over ruled or out smarted. And if you look at the screen you'll see something else." Haymitch pointed to the screen where there was a frozen picture of Katniss being held back by two guards.

The teens stared at the screen for a few moments, trying to see what Haymitch was talking about.

"I don't understand what we're-"

"The pin." Hope whispered, cutting Tessa off.

"What?" Tessa raised an eyebrow at her.

Hope pointed to the screen. "Look on her dress. That's the same pin that Maysilee wore." Hope then turned to Haymitch. "How did Mom get it?"

Haymitch shook his head. "That's not the point. The point is her volunteering and wearing that pin made her a big target."

"But what does the pin mean?" Finnick asked.

"If it's not explained by the end of the tape, then I will tell you." Haymitch leaned back in his chair, bottle still in hand.

The teens knew that they weren't getting anything else out of Haymitch, so Hunter lifted the remote and pressed play.

They watched as Katniss walked onto the stage and Prim started to cry and ran off her, but an eighteen year old boy with dark hair and gray eyes came out of the crowd, lifting her up and bringing her to her mother.

"Who was that?" Tessa asked, not really thinking it was anyone important.

"I think that's a question for Katniss to answer." Haymitch said.

The four looked at each other, that was not the answer they thought they were going to get.

By now, Katniss was on stage and Effie was walking over to the bowl with the boys names.

She reached in and pulled out a piece of paper, walking to the middle of the stage and opened in. The whole time Katniss never moved and just stared ahead.

Effie read out in a nice clear voice a name they all knew was coming.

_'Peeta Mellark!'_

The screen changed and they saw a shocked looking Peeta walking towards the stage.

Like Katniss, Peeta never really changed a lot. He still had the same blonde hair and blue eyes. Also like Katniss, back then he never had all the scars that he does now and he also didn't walk with a limp. And the teens now had a feeling that the Hunger Games had something to do with the limp part.

Both Katniss and Peeta looked the same on the outside, but Hope thought, and knew, that most of the change had to be on the inside. Especially after going though the games, not once but two times.

They watched as Katniss and Peeta shook hands, but it almost seemed like Katniss was in a daze.

Before the teens could question it, Katniss and Peeta were rushed away into the Justice Building, the big double doors closing behind them.

The 74th Annual Hunger Games had started.

* * *

**Guess who is on Summer break! MEE!  
**

**This chapter is 3,459 words, and I only got the Reaping done. I was going to write up until the Arena, but I want to put a lot of detail in this one. So it will be three to four chapters long.**

**Also! We are only 16 reviews away from 400! Can we get there by next chapter!? :)**

**Thank you everyone so much for everything. Not just the reviews and follows, but for just reading this story.**

**Love you all to the moon and back3**


	23. Paper Doll

_Paper Doll - John Mayer._

"_Lie until even you believe it - that's the real secret of lying." - Holly Black._

* * *

_Little five year old Hope was lying on the living room floor. Her legs were kicking back and forth and she had her tongue stuck out as she concentrated on coloring in the drawing in front of her._

_It was already past 8:00pm, but her parents were letting her stay up a bit longer tonight._

_Just as she finished her drawing, footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs._

_'Daddy!' Hope jumped up, grabbing her drawing and running over to her father. 'Look what I did!'_

_Peeta, who was dressed up in a blue button up shirt and dress pants, picked up his daughter and took the drawing from her to get a better look._

_There were four stick people standing next to each other, biggest to smallest and two girls, two boys. Peeta knew right away it was him, Katniss, Hope and baby Hunter. They were standing in front of a house with big smiles on their faces. There was lots of bright colors, greens, yellows, blues and the sun was even had a smiley face._

_'It's beautiful cookie.' Peeta kissed his daughters head._

_Hope's face broke out into a big smile. 'I wanted to draw something just like you.'_

_'I think you did a better job then me.' Peeta told his daughter and her big blue eyes went wide._

_'Really?!' She asked with an even bigger smile on her face._

_Peeta smiled and nodded just as the doorbell rang._

_Putting down Hope, and giving her the drawing to go put on the fridge, Peeta went to open the door and found Haymitch standing there._

_'Come on. Let's go.' Haymitch said, walking into the house. 'The sooner we get there the sooner we can leave.'_

_'We only need to be there for an hour,' Peeta told him, closing the door. 'Then we can leave again.'_

_'That's 55 minutes to long,' Haymitch grumbled as he followed Peeta into the living room. 'It's been 10 years. Why do we still have to go to these stupid parties.'_

_Peeta just shrugged as Hope come running into the living room_

_'Daddy? Can I have a cookie?' Hope asked her father, giving him puppy dog eyes._

_'One. But don't tell your mother.'_

_Hope smiled as she nodded her head and ran back into the kitchen._

_'So, where's Finnick Jr and Johanna Jr?' Haymitch asked._

_'Home.' said Peeta. 'Annie, Johanna and James are only here for the party. A train is taking everyone back home later on tonight.'_

_'Why does the party have to be here anyways?' Haymitch asked, really wishing he had a drink right now. 'I mean, I'm happy it's not in the Capitol, but because it's here we now have no reason to not go.'_

_'You know why.' Peeta sighed as he sat down and Hope came back into the living room with her cookie. She sat back down on the floor and started to draw again._

_'Which is stupid. Like I said, it's being ten years.'_

_Before Peeta could say anything, Katniss came down the stairs._

_'Let's go. The sooner we get there the sooner we leave.' She said as she came into the living room._

_Haymitch smirked as Peeta rolled his eyes._

_'Wow.' Hope stood up, looking up at her mother. 'You look really pretty mommy.'_

_And she did. Katniss was dressed in a beautiful green dress that ended just above her knees and her long brown hair that was normally in a braid was left down._

_This was the first time Hope actually seen her mother dressed up._

_'Thanks beautiful.' Katniss smiled at her daughter._

_'Now Katniss, who are you trying to impress?' Haymitch joked, standing up. 'I mean, you're not the most fashionable person in the world. So it's a big deal when you do dress up.'_

_Katniss glared at Haymitch but before she could say anything, the doorbell rang again._

_'That would be the babysitter.' Peeta butted in and went to answer the door before Katniss and Haymitch went at it. Again._

* * *

_The Tribute Parade_, came across the screen in fancy gold letters and Hope couldn't help be but think about the number of times people said her mother wasn't fashionable.

She seen how dressed up people got for this stupid parade and she just wondering what District Twelve would have to wear this time. Note the sarcasm.

"Great. Wondering what Aunt Katniss and Uncle Peeta will have to wear." Tessa rolled her eyes.

"I'm guessing you now know how the Tribute Parade works." Haymitch raised an eyebrow.

Hunter nodded. "They dress up the tributes according to the district's industry."

"Meaning that mom and dad are going to be dressed up as dirty coal miners." Hope wrinkled her nose.

"But do you know why?" Haymitch questioned.

The teens all shared a look before shaking their heads.

"It's to get sponsors."

"Sponsors?" Finnick asked, confused. "What are sponsors for?"

"When you are in the Arena, sponsors can send you thinks." Haymitch explained. "Food, medicine, whatever you need or whatever they want to give you, they can send it."

The teens remembered seeing people get things. They just never thought to much of it. After all, it was the Hunger Games, they could think of many reasons how a tribute ended up with something.

"So. The better you look, the high your change at getting sponsors?" Tessa asked. "That's bullshit."

Haymitch didn't say anything as he turned to the TV, taking a drink.

They listen as Caesar went on to explain how important the moment was for the tributes - which just made Hope roll her eyes and Finnick mumbled how much he hated Caesar.

Then, before they knew it, the chariots were on the way and as always, District One was first.

The teens watched as Glimmer and Marvel waved and smiled at the crowd. In Hope's mind, she didn't understand how dressing up like it's Halloween would get you sponsors. Glimmer wore a large, pink feather headdress and a long pink dress and feather cape. While Marvel wore a shiny tunic and a feather cape also. Way to much pink and way to much glitter for Hope. And Tessa. And anyone really.

Next was Cato and Clove, who were dressed in gold gladiator-style outfits. It wasn't as bad as District One, but it was still pretty horrible.

District Five, who had Finch or as the teens called her 'Fox', wore shiny silver costumes that, as far as they could guess, represented power and electricity.

Rue and Thresh were dressed in farmer like costumes with silver branches as their headpiece. And Hope had to say, it was one of the better costumes for District Eleven. They were always dressed as farmers, or some type of animal that could be found on a farm.

"The Tribute Parade is stupid." Tessa crossed her arms. "It's just teenagers being used as Barbie dolls and dressed in oversized Halloween costumes."

"There have been 74 games," Hunter added. "Meaning that had to re-use outfit ideas several times. How is this still exciting to people."

"You would be surprised." Haymitch said. "The stylist's can be _very_ creative."

The way Haymitch said this, made the teens share a look. Something was going to happen, they knew it. And when Tessa was about to question it, Hunter cut her off.

"Look." Was all he said as he pointed to the screen.

They did as they were told and when they looked, they saw Katniss and Peeta wearing black unitards and headdresses. The both looked... amazing. Not like the districts before them who were dressed up like Capitol people. But, the thing that caught their eyes the most, was the fact that they were wearing flaming caps.

They were actually wearing fire!

"That... That's just..." Hope couldn't form any words. She just couldn't believe how _beautiful_ her parents looked.

Sure, she seen her mother and father dress up. But only a few times. And each time didn't look as good as this.

"How?" She finally much to get out, turning to Haymitch.

"Cinna is a good stylist." Haymitch shrugged, taking a drink.

"Cinna?" Tessa raised an eyebrow. "Who's Cinna?"

"He was Katniss' stylist." Haymitch said, looking at the TV.

"Then what..." Finnick stopped talking where he say Haymitch shaking his head. Obviously he didn't want to say anymore on the subject.

The teens watched the rest of the parade in silence. They watched as the crowd went insane over Katniss and Peeta. How they started to wave and smile at the crowd. How they held hands.

But even though they were holding hands, it didn't feel right. It felt pushed. Fake. And after seeing your parents, who are married with two kids, everyday for the past 16 years, Hope knew they weren't... in love at this time.

Hell, half the time they looked like they didn't even speak to each other.

"Mom and Dad aren't... together here are they?" Hope asked in a quiet voice. She knew is was probably a stupid question. After all, it seemed like back then the first thing on people's minds wasn't to fall in love and have kids.

Haymitch stared at Hope for a long time before finally, he shook his head and looked away.

Hope didn't question it anymore. Though she did have a feeling that the topic was going to come up again soon.

_The Scores _faded in across the screen.

There really wasn't that much talking going on while the scores were being said. The teens knew what the scores were and what you had to do to get a score.

The only question they wanted to ask, or know, was how each person got the score they did. And that was a questions Haymitch couldn't answer. He did, however, tell them how he _thought_ they got their score from what he seen in the games.

Besides Katniss and Peeta. He knew how they got their score.

So, the teens sat there and watched as the scores were said. And once again, if they didn't already know Katniss and Peeta made it out alive, the odds didn't look good.

Both Glimmer and Marvel got a nine, and Haymitch said that Glimmer was good with a bow and arrow - which made Hope narrow her eyes - and Marvel was good with a spear.

Cato and Clove, both got a ten. Haymitch told them that they were both insane and Cato could use multiple weapons plus he was strong, and Clove had good knife skills.

Finch got a five and Haymitch told them that Katniss and Peeta called her 'foxface' - which made the teens grin. He said that she was good at covering her tracks. She was smart.

Thresh got a nine and Haymitch said that it could be because of his strength. While little Rue got a seven - which surprised the teens, in a good way - but Haymitch said that she was a good climber and she was good with plants.

Then Peeta's face come up on the screen with a big number eight.

"Really?" Hope and Hunter said, surprised.

Hope and Hunter wouldn't say that their father was useless. He was anything but. Still, they couldn't really think of anything he was good at that would help him in this kind of games. He was the most amazing artist and baker the teens know. But, you can't bake a cake or draw a picture to win this.

"Surprised?" Haymitch smirked.

"What did he do?" Hope asked, ignoring Haymitch.

"His strength. Your father was pretty strong. He still is. But even more so before his bad leg."

They both nodded, but before they could say anything else, Katniss' picture came up. With the number eleven right next to it.

"Eleven?!" The teens yelled, all four of them in shock.

Haymitch nodded, taking a drink. "Three guesses how she got that number."

"Her skill with a bow and arrow." Hope answered without a second thought. "But still, you said Glimmer was good with a bow too. I'm not saying she is better then mom. But to get an eleven... She had to do something else."

"You're not as dumb as I thought sweetheart." Haymitch commented, taking another drink while Hope just glared at him. "Let's just say, your mother also used her fierce temper."

The teens just looked at Haymitch confused, which made him sigh. He hated when they looked at him like that.

"She shot an arrow at the Gamemakers." Haymitch told them like it was nothing.

"She what?!" Hope yelled.

"How the hell did she make it out alive?!" Finnick added.

"I wish I could have been there." Tessa smirked which got her glares from the other three. "What? I would like to shot an arrow at the Capitol monkey's myself. Of course, I have no sweet clue how to use a bow, so I would just get Hope to do it for me."

Hope rolled her eyes but didn't say anything. Because if Tessa did come to her and ask, she would probably do it.

"Remember, President Snow wasn't the biggest fan of Katniss at this time." Haymitch spoke, making to teens look at him. "The fact that she shot an arrow at the Gamemakers made her an even bigger target. Giving her the highest number made her the the biggest target in the Arena." Haymitch stopped to take a drink. "Basically. President Snow isn't a fan of The Girl on Fire."

"Girl on Fire?" Hunter questioned.

Haymitch nodded. "It was your mother's 'stage name', I guess you can call it. Fit her really good. Now, let's get back to the tape. Look. The Interviews. They are always fun."

Hope and Finnick shared a look before turning to the TV.

Haymitch was acting... odd. Something was going to happen. Very, very soon.

But, he was right. _The Interview_ faded across the screen. Meaning that the calm part was almost over and the stressful part was soon going to start.

"What is really the point of the interviews?" Tessa asked with crossed arms.

"It's to show the Capitol a little about each tribute to help them choose their favorite." Haymitch answered like it was no big deal.

"Seriously?" Hope groaned. "What is even the point of that?"

No one answered and they just continued to watch the screen as each tribute came out one by one.

Glimmer was the very first person to come out. She was dressed in a short pink dress. While Marvel come out in a matching suit. They both showed confidence and made jokes, and even though Marvel didn't seem like the smartest, he still knew how to work the crowd.

The questions were the same as they always were. Caesar talked about life back home, staying in the Capitol, training and the reaping. So the teens really just watched.

Cato came out and he really did seem like a killing-machine. He actually seemed like he was excited to go in the games. He was in to win for his district.

And Clove was just like him. She was also arrogant and sarcastic, but at the same time, she seemed somewhat sweet. But, the teens knew it was probably just an act.

Foxface was sly and smart. She didn't speak a lot in her interview and when she did, it was quiet, fast and she spoke with intelligent words.

Rue was like a bubble of happiness, if that was possible after being put in these games. She wasn't shy at all and she talked like an eighteen year old. This made everyone even more angry and upset knowing that she was going to die.

Meanwhile, Thresh wasn't so much in the talking mood. He was huge, but all his answers were one or two words.

"These interviews are boring!" Tessa commented in the middle of Thresh interview.

"Don't start again Tessa." Hope narrowed her eyes st her.

"But really," Tessa continued, not listening to Hope. "All they do is talking about the same thing over and over. How can people watch this every year!"

"While, most people don't watch five tapes in a row Tessa." Finnick told her, smirking.

"Shut up Odair." Tessa glared.

"Make me Foss."

_'From District Twelve! You know her as the Girl on Fire! But we know her as the lovely Katniss Everdeen!'_

When this was heard, Finnick and Tessa - plus Hope, Hunter and Haymitch - turned to the screen and saw Katniss walk out onto the stage.

She was even more beautiful than she was in the parade, if that was possible. Her dress was red and covered in jewels that made her look like she was being engulfed by flames when she moved.

She looked amazing.

As she looked over to Caesar, Katniss looked dazed and when they sat down and Caesar asked her the first question, she didn't answer.

"Well, this is going to go great." Tessa said sarcastically.

"Always so positive Tessa." Hope rolled her eyes.

"I'm just saying. We all know Aunt Katniss isn't the most... sociable person."

"No," Hunter said slowly, a smile on his face. "But she knows how to make a crowd laugh."

Tessa and Hope turned to the screen and saw the crowd laughing at Katniss when she said '_what'_.

"That, or the Capitol is stupid." Tessa crossed her arms. "And I'm going with the stupid reason."

_'I said that was some entrance you made at the Tribute Parade. Mind telling is about it?'_

"You meaning do I mind telling you how horrible the whole idea of the Tribute Parade is?" Tessa narrowed her eyes at the screen. "No. Not at all."

"Tessa." Hunter sighed. "Can we please get through this part of the tape?"

"Yes. Can we please." Haymitch butted in before Tessa could say anything. "I am already almost done the first bag and I'm going to need the whole second one to make it through the Arena."

Tessa just rolled her eyes at both Hunter and Haymitch, but she did turn back to the screen.

_'Well. I was just... hoping that I wouldn't burn to death.'_

The teens actually laughed at this, which surprised them.

"Who knew Aunt Katniss could actually make a good joke." Finnick laughed.

_'When you came out of that chariot, I have to say, my heart stopped.' _Caesar then turned to the crowd. _'Did any of you experience this as well?'_

_'So did mine.'_

"Wow Hope." Tessa smirked as Finnick, Hunter and even Haymitch gave a light laugh. "You are actually Aunt Katniss."

Hope gave her a glare, but it was only playful. She knew that she was like her mother and she really did like it when people reminded her.

"Well, we aren't joking when we call her mini Katniss." Haymitch added, taking a drink, which made Hope just roll her eyes. But with a smile on her face.

_'Now tell me about the flames. Were they real?'_

_'Yes.' _Katniss there looked out into the crowd and the teens wonder who she was looking at.

"Cinna." Haymitch answered as if he could read their minds. "She was looking at Cinna for the signal."

"Signal?" Finnick raised an eyebrow. "Signal for what?"

_'In fact I'm wearing them today.' _Katniss turned back to Caesar._ 'Would you like to see?'_

"Okay. Mom is actually gone insane." Hunter narrowed his eyes at the screen. "I see no flames on her. How is she wearing them?"

The others didn't answer him, mainly because they also didn't know.

Haymitch just smirked and took a sip of his drink.

_'Wait. Wait. Wait. Is it safe?'_

"I sure hope not." Tessa said and when everyone looked at her with glares, she added. "I hope everyone from the Capitol burns. Not Aunt Katniss and Uncle Peeta."

Katniss smiled and gave a small laugh _'Yes.'_

_'What do you think folks?'_ Caesar asked the crowd.

"I am pretty sure they would say yes in anything you said." Finnick crossed his arms.

Slowly, Katniss stood up and took a step or two towards the crowd. Then, she started to spin around, and the teens face's fell in shock when they saw flames at the bottom of the dress.

"Okay. Cinna is amazing." Hope said after a few moments of just staring at the screen.

"How come he never did anything like this for the tributes of District Twelve before?" Finnick asked.

"Because he was new this year." Haymitch explained. "He actually picked District Twelve himself."

"Well, he is awesome." Finnick smiled.

"Yeah. I mean, anyone who can dress up Aunt Katniss is like a superhero." Tessa joked, which made everyone laugh and for once, the games didn't seem that bad.

Once Katniss was done spinning around and was back sitting in the chair, Caesar looked at her with a very serious look.

_'I have one more question to ask you. It's about your sister.'_

The teens tensed up when he said this.

"Well, he sure knows how to take the fun out of the moment." Finnick mumbled.

_'We were all very moved, I think, when you volunteered for her at the Reaping. Did she come to say goodbye to you?'_

"What does he mean by that?" Hunter asked Haymitch.

"After the Tributes are picked and brought into the Justice Building, they have to say their final goodbyes there." Haymitch told them, taking a drink.

They all wanted to say something about this. How stupid it was that they only had a few minutes to say goodbye. But, none of them could actually form words at the moment. So they just sat there and listened to the rest of the interview.

_'Yes. She did.'_

_'And what did you say to her? In the end?'_

_'I told her I would try to win. I would try to win... for her.'_

Everyone was silent. Mainly because no one really knew what to say.

But, they did see their Katniss in this moment. The Katniss who was a mother, an aunt. The Katniss who would do anything for her kids. Or, in the tapes case, for her sister.

This was the real Katniss.

_'And try you will.'_

"I feel drained just from watching that interview." Hope sighed as they watched Caesar and Katniss stand up.

"Well, you have one more to go before the Arena" Tessa replied.

"Thanks for reminding me Tess." Hope glared at her.

Finnick looked at Hope and saw that she really did look drained. Maybe it was because of the fact that they haven't slept in almost 14 hours. Maybe it was the fact that they just watched five tapes in a row. Maybe it was both.

Either way, Finnick grabbed Hope's hand in his, giving her a small smile.

Hope returned the smile and moved closer to Finnick, resting her head on his shoulder.

If Hunter saw this, and Finnick was pretty sure he did, he didn't saying anything. Which Finnick was happy for. Maybe he was finally coming to terms with what happened, between him and Hope.

_'Now welcome! Also from District Twelve, Peeta Mellark!'_

Peeta walked out onto the stage and just like the other male tributes, he was wearing a suite that matched Katniss'. And he looked amazing it in.

They watched as Peeta and Caesar joked around on stage. Making small talk. actually somewhat acting like friends.

And it was easy to tell, after watching Katniss' interview and now watching Peeta's, that Hope was really like her mother and Hunter like him father.

Hunter was more of the talker. He could get along with anyone and everyone. It was easy to feel relaxed and comfortable around Hunter.

While Hope, though she was a bit more sociable then her mother, didn't really like talking to new people. She was more than happy talking to just the people she knew and grew up with. Put her in a room feel a people and she would be the most awkward person alive.

The interview was going really well and the teens were happy that nothing really big was happening. They had to save all their energy for the Arena.

However, that all went downhill in the last minute or so of the interview.

_'So Peeta. Tell me. Is there a special girl back home?'_

"This is going to get awkward." Hunter said.

"What do you mean?" Tessa asked.

"Listening to dad talk about being with a girl besides mom. This can get awkward." Hunter explained.

Meanwhile, Hope looked at Haymitch and he met her eyes for a moment before looking away.

Something big was about to happen.

_'No. No not really.'_

_'No? I don't believe it for a second. Look at that face. Handsome man like you. Peeta. tell me.'_

"Why does he like knowing people's love life?" Finnick question. "Even if we didn't know who was and wasn't making it out, it's still horrible. Being reminded of who you may lose."

_'Well. There is this one girl who I've had a crush on forever.'_

"And this is where is gets awkward." said Tessa and Hunter nodded.

_'Well. I'll tell you what Peeta. You go out there and you win this thing. And when you go home she'll have to go out with you. Right folks?'_

"Dating 101, from Caesar Flickerman." Finnick rolled his eyes.

_'Thanks but, I don't think winning is going to help me at all.'_

_'And why not?'_

Peeta took a deep breath before saying, _'Because she came here with me.'_

Shock. Hunter, Tessa and Finnick were all in shock.

"You have to be kidding me?" Tessa said.

"So, is that how they win?" Hunter asked, really confused.

"Oh my god! Uncle Peeta has a crush on Effie!" Finnick yelled.

Tessa and Hunter raised an eyebrow at Finnick.

"What are you getting on with?" Tessa asked him.

Finnick shrugged. "Just trying to lighten the mood a bit."

Tessa crossed her arms. "Well. It's not working. So stop."

"Whatever you say Tessa." Finnick rolled his eyes.

Meanwhile, Hope looked over at Haymitch, who was still drinking.

"Was this planned?" She asked, making Tessa and Finnick stop bickering.

Haymitch took a deep breath before answering. "Yes and no."

Hope raised an eyebrow. "Meaning?"

"This idea - the star-crossed lovers idea - was planned. But, Peeta really did have a crush on your mother since forever."

Hope didn't really know what to say to that, so she stayed on the subject of the games.

"This causes some problems down the road. Doesn't it?" She asked in a quiet voice.

"More than you know sweetheart." Haymitch brought the bottle to his lips. "More than you know."

* * *

**My longest chapter yet! Hope you enjoy it. This chapter pretty much wrote itself!**

**Now. Can I just take a moment and say how much I love each and everyone of you. Last chapter I had 384 reviews. I now have 434. And 434-384=50.**

**50! 50 reviews in one week! You guys are the most amazing readers ever and I hope we can get 50+ again by next week! :)**

**Really though. I never thought this story would be as big as it is now and I have each and everyone of you to thank for that.**

**I love you all to the moon and back, xox3**


	24. Safe and Sound

**I made a mistake when Haymitch talked about the Mockingjays, so I went back and fixed it.**

_Safe and Sound - Taylor Swift Civil Wars._

"_What happens in the dark should not be brought to light." - Habeeb Akande._

* * *

Hope was proud to say that she _never _got scared.

Well, besides this one time back when she was seven.

It was around Halloween and it was really just a normal day. As cliche as it sounded.

Really, Hope still didn't fully understand what had happened. One minute, her and Hunter were just talking about what they wanted to be for Halloween. The next, Peeta was grabbing onto the back of a chair like his life was on the line and Katniss was telling them to go to their rooms. Both her and Hunter didn't listen at first but Hope could tell by the look on her mothers faces that this was serious, so she dragged Hunter upstairs to her room.

As she walked away, she saw her fathers eyes. They weren't the same lovely bright blue eyes that loved his daughter with all his heart.

They were the eyes of someone who hated the world and everyone in it.

Hope and Hunter stayed up in her room for some time until their parents come up, acting like nothing really happened.

And ever since that day, Hope never saw her father like that again.

That, was the only time Hope was actually scared. And it was _at _her father.

This time, however, Hope was also scared. But, it was _for_ her father. And for her mother.

_The Arena, Day One_. Or, more famously known as _The Bloodbath _faded across the screen.

The countdown hit zero and just like every other games, the tributes took off running. All heading towards the Cornucopia.

The first thing the teens all noticed was the second zero came up, Peeta ran off his metal plate as fast as he could and went towards the trees. Not even looking at the Cornucopia.

"Told ya." Haymitch mumbled into his bottle, and the kids gave him confused looks.

"What are you talking about?" Hunter asked.

"The all two people to listen to their mentors." Haymitch explained, pointing at Tessa. "Your mother," He then pointed at Hope and Hunter. "And your father. Of course, I told your mother to but, really, when does she ever listen to anyone."

The teens all rolled their eyes and shock their heads at Haymitch. He was almost half way to the point of being drunk so they would have to cut him off if he was going to finish these tapes with them.

Plus, it was ridiculous how much liquor he could drink before he even started to get drunk.

They watched as kids and teens get killed. Marvel sawed whoever he could. Cato stabbed anyone that came near him. Clove was throwing knives every which way. Glimmer started to beat down on people. Kids, boys, girls, teens. The were running everywhere. Some grabbing backpacks, some had weapons, and some had nothing.

Then, they saw Katniss, standing there as she watched everything happen around her.

"Why did she even go towards the Cornucopia?" Hope asked, looking at Haymitch.

"She saw a bow and arrows." Haymitch said.

"Well then, that's good. Right?" Finnick said. "She runs in there, grabs the bow and gets out. Then, she has one of the best weapons in the games."

"Yes. But the trouble is getting in there to get the bow and arrows."

"Why did they even put a bow and arrows in the games?" asked Tessa. "I mean, they never did any other year."

"Remember. Katniss is a pro with the bow. She showed them that in her training."

"So, basically, they put in the bow just for her?" Hope said, raising an eyebrow.

Haymitch nodded, bring the bottle to his lips.

"But why?" Finnick asked. "Why would they give Aunt Katniss a bow? Especially in a game like this. Why give someone the upper hand."

"Because she had to run into the bloodbath." Hunter said, suddenly.

"What?" Finnick looked at him confused.

"President Snow doesn't like mom. So he would want to get her out of the games as soon as possible. What better way then making everyone see that she couldn't even last through the first five minutes of the game."

"And he knew that she would try to get the bow." Tessa added.

Hope leaned back against the couch. "This is so messed up."

"We clarified that four tapes ago." Tessa said.

They all turn their attention back to the screen and watch as Katniss ran over to a bright orange backpack. But, just as she grabbed it, so did a boy from one of the other Districts and they watch as she started to fight with him for the backpack.

"Well, I'm going to say that this does turn out well for the boy." Finnick commented.

"Why?" Tessa asked.

"Because one, he doesn't get the backpack or two, he gets killed."

"Maybe Mom doesn't get the backpack and they both make it out of the bloodbath." Hope said.

Finnick shock his head. "No. I'm gonna say he does get the backpack or he doesn't make it out."

Then, suddenly, the boy stopped fight and fell to the ground.

Everyone, minus Haymitch who was just drinking in his chair, got confused.

"See. I told you so." Finnick smirked at Tessa, who just glared at him.

When the teens looked, they saw Clove, standing there with a number of knives. She was standing a nice few feet away from Katniss, but she still was able to kill the boy.

Finnick's face fell.

"This isn't good." Hope said.

Clove and Katniss stared at each other for a moment until Clove glared at her and throw a knife at lightning speed.

"She gets stabbed." Tessa said, mainly to herself. "In the arm, leg something not to bad, but she still gets stabbed."

"Tessa, stop it." Hope rolled her eyes. Even though she to was thinking that her mother wasn't going to get hurt. Somewhere.

But, at the last-minute, Katniss lifted the backpack in front of her and the knife flew into it.

Everyone blew out a breath.

"At least she has quick reflexes." Hunter said.

Hope smiled. _That's because she's a hunter._

Quickly, Katniss turned and ran into the forest before Clove could even realize what happened.

As she is running, the teens finally get a good look at the Arena for this year.

It was large, that was for sure, and flat with hard packed dirt - which was what the Cornucopia was in the center of. There was a forest with streams, meadows, pools, caves and a lack. It was enormous. Probably one of the bigger Arena's.

The screen then starts flicking between the tributes, but it mostly shows Katniss as she keeps running in the forest. And they only saw Peeta once or twice, and he was just walking both times. It was odd.

"How come we don't see a lot of dad?" Hope asked Haymitch.

Haymitch just shock his head and drank out of his bottle, mumbling something that sounded like, "You'll see later."

Katniss keep running until it got dark and when she finally did stop, she looked around to see what was around her.

The teens were about to ask Haymitch what she was doing when they saw her look up. She then started to climb an enormous tree.

"Okay. What is she doing?" Tessa asked.

"Now listen," Finnick turned to Tessa, smirking. "If you go asking questions the whole-"

"Shut up Finnick." Tessa glared at him.

Finnick threw his hands in the air. "I'm just telling you what you told me."

Tessa rolled her eyes at him before turning back to the screen while Finnick lowered his arms.

Without really noticing it, as Finnick lowered his arms he put one around Hope's shoulders. Hope smiled to herself as she put her legs up on the love seat and leaned into Finnick. It was only then that Finnick realized what he did, and he smiled to himself, not regretting it one bit.

When Katniss was seated in the tree, she started to pull things out of her backpack. Little things that would, somewhat, help her live. Then, she pulled out rope and started to strap herself into the tree.

Hope got déjà vu from when they watched Annie up in the tree.

"Why is she sleep in the tree?" Tessa asked Haymitch.

"Now that the bloodbath is over, tributes start to hunt for each other." Haymitch explained. "Katniss sleeping in a tree is the safest place to be. Careers aren't smart enough to look up."

_End of Day One: Death Count_ came up on the screen and, since Haymitch's games, the teens really paid attention to see who was still in the games. And who wasn't so lucky to last the first day - if you can call that being unlucky.

District Three's female.

District Four's male.

District Five's male.

Both from District Six.

Both from District Seven.

District Eight's male.

Both from District Nine.

And District Ten's female.

Eleven people didn't make it out of the bloodbath and thirteen people did. This also meant that Glimmer, Marvel, Cato, Clove, Thresh and Rue had made it out alive.

The teens were happy Rue made it out. Not so much about the other four. And as for Thresh, well, the teens didn't really know how they felt about him yet.

_The Arena, Day Two_ came across the screen and it looked like day two just started when the teens see Katniss wake up.

"Jumpy are we?" Finnick said as they watched Katniss look around.

"Wouldn't you be jumpy too?" Hunter asked, raising an eyebrow at Finnick.

Finnick just shrugged, "Maybe."

Katniss looked around for a minute until her eyes fell on a girl who had made a fire, and by the looks of it, is trying to warm herself up.

"How can you be so stupid." Tessa sighed, shaking her head.

"Obviously she has a death wish." Hope added.

Haymitch smiled to himself as he watched the four complain about how stupid the girl was.

He would never say it, but he was proud of them. All four were just like their parents and, even though he sometimes made it seem otherwise, it was a really good thing.

They heard footsteps coming and saw Katniss freeze in place, trying not to make a sound.

Because of the smoke, the Career's found the girl and, for the first time, the teens didn't react to her death, like they normally would. Something else caught their attention.

"Who. Are. Kidding. Me." Finnick stared at the screen.

"That's it. Uncle Peeta is actually insane." Tessa threw her hands in the air.

"Please tell him he is just there and he has not teamed up with them." Hunter looked at Haymitch.

But, Haymitch just shook his head and went back to his drink.

"So that's it?" Hope narrowed her eyes at him. "You're just going to shake your head? Not even going to explain why the hell my father is teamed up with those monsters?"

"Sweetheart, you will find out later on." Haymitch rolled his eyes. "But just think of it just way, your parents are together now."

No one said anything else after that. Hope just crossed her arms, Finnick's arm still around her as he rubbed small circles on her arm with his thumb, trying to calm her down.

The Career's and Peeta - he was _not_ a Career - left, leaving the dead girls body on the ground without a second thought.

The screen then showed Katniss' face and they all could tell by her look that she was feeling betrayed. But, the teens also knew that when Katniss felt betrayed, angry came along soon after.

Day two seemed to pass by a lot faster than day one. Once the Career's were far away, Katniss jumped out of the tree and spent the day hunting and looking for water

"This isn't good." Hunter sighed. "It's her second day without water."

"And she spent most of the first day running." Tessa added.

By the end of the day, the only person dead was District Eight's female.

Twelve people were left in the games.

"At least we are half way through already." Finnick said. "This game is already half over."

"Not really." Haymitch grumbled.

"What do you mean?" Hope asked, confused. "Twelve of the tributes are already dead. And it's only Day Three."

"There is a nice few days were no one dies." Haymitch told them. "Of course, if they go to long then the Gamemaker's start to kill people off."

"So, how long does this game last?" Tessa asked.

Haymitch shrugged. "Eighteen days."

"Great." Hope groaned, along with the other three.

Eighteen days and they were only on day three.

They still had fifteen days left to go.

_Day Three_ was just as short as day two. If not shorter.

Katniss showed up on-screen and they could tell that if she didn't get something to drink soon, she won't - well, shouldn't. The teens know she made it out.

"I don't understand," Hunter looked at Haymitch. "This is mom's third day without water and she obviously needs it. Didn't you say sponsors send you things when you need it?"

Haymitch nodded. "Yes. When you need it _and_ when they want to." He explained. "They don't just send stuff to anyone because they need water or food. You have to get the sponsors to like you."

"And how do you do that when you a fighting for your life?" Tessa raised an eyebrow.

"What do you think us mentors are doing when these games are going on?"

When no one said anything, Haymitch continued.

"Tributes get the sponsors to like them mostly in the parade and with the training and interviews. While the games are going on, mentors are in a room with sponsors, trying to get them to like their tributes more."

"So, how come you didn't send mom water?" Hope asked.

Haymitch smirked. "Your mother is smart. She caught on pretty quick to what I was doing."

Finnick raised an eyebrow. "Meaning?"

"Mentors _think_ they have no way to talk to their tribute. But, really, you do. Through the sponsors."

"Haymitch. We have no idea what you are talking about." Tessa sighed.

"By not sending Katniss water, I was telling her-"

"She was close to water." Hunter finished, catching on.

Haymitch nodded and pointed to Hunter. "See. At least he got his mother's brains. Which is good and bad."

Hope glared at Haymitch while Hunter just rolled his eyes.

"But Aunt Katniss didn't know that..." Finnick asked and Haymitch shook his head.

"No, but she did catch on over time."

Just as the day was coming it an end, Katniss collapsed in mud. Then, suddenly, a few minutes after the fall, she jumped back up.

"Water." Hope smiled.

"Makes sense." Tessa said. "Mix water and dirt and you get mud."

"Thank you Tessa for telling us all how to make mud. It's not like we were four a one point." Finnick smirked, which made Tessa glare at him.

Hope was right and they watch as Katniss purified the water. She then got something to eat and later went to sleep back in a tree.

No one died on day three. Meaning they won't any closer to the end then they were before.

"Oh. Great." Haymitch mumbled taking two bottles out of his bag.

The teens look at each other, confused, as _The Arena, Day Four came_ across the screen and they are all blinded by bright orange.

"What the hell is going on?!" Tessa asked, her eyes going wide as she looked at the screen.

No one gets a change to answer her before Katniss jumped up and looked around only to see a wall of fire around her.

"Fire?! Where the hell did the fire come from?!" Hope yelled at the screen, before turning to Haymitch.

"Gamemakers." He mumbled into his bottle.

"Why did the Gamemakers put fire everywhere?" Finnick asked.

"I don't know for sure, but it's probably because she was close to the edge of the Arena or getting to far away from the other tributes."

Katniss then fell out of the tree and started to run, dodging fire as it came out of nowhere. Then, as if the fire wall wasn't enough, fireballs started to come at her.

"Really. What is this? President Snow knows that this isn't a video game right?" Finnick glared at the screen.

"President Snow doesn't like mom," Hunter said, not listening to Finnick. "He would do anything to get mom go of the games."

"Yeah well, someone should try to get _him_ out of the games."

Everyone turned to Finnick and raised an eyebrow at him.

"What?" Finnick shrugged. "I mean, someone should get rid of-"

"We know what you mean Finnick." Tessa rolled her eyes.

"You never know. Not all of you are as smart as me."

Hope, Hunter and Tessa gave Finnick an 'are-you-kidding-me' look while Haymitch rolled his eyes and took a drink.

The teens continue to watch Katniss run, fireballs coming out of nowhere. Suddenly, one flew past the screen and hit Katniss right in the calf, making her stumble a bit, but she kept on running.

"You're kidding me?" Hope stared at the screen with wide eyes.

"She got hit in the leg with _fire_ and keeps running..." Tessa said. "She was tough."

"Was?" Hunter looked at Tessa, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't let Katniss hear you say that," Haymitch smirked. "She still likes to think she's tough."

"How can you guys joke why mom just got hit in the leg with fire?!" Hope asked.

Haymitch rolled his eyes. "Finnick. Keep your girlfriend under control."

Hope glared at him. "Shut up Haymitch."

Meanwhile, Finnick was smiling to himself. Haymitch had called Hope his girlfriend and she didn't deny it. He still wasn't sure if he did, 100%, like Hope that way - and he sure as hell didn't know how she felt about this - but it still sounded good.

After some time, Katniss had finally made it out of the fire hell - as if the game wasn't hell already - and she found a pool of water. They watched as she ran over, as good as she could, and got in. A look of relief came on her face now that her burns were eased.

"I don't blame her for being relieved." Finnick said. "Can you imagine running through the forest with burns on your leg?"

Katniss stayed in the pool for a while, just resting and recovering, which was probably a bad idea because she suddenly looked up and the teens could hear the Careers coming towards her.

They came into view on the screen and, as they turned, they saw Katniss sitting in the water. And, Peeta is still with them.

"Really, what is he doing?" Tessa asked.

Finnick felt Hope tense up next to him. She really did not like the idea of dad trying to hunt down her mother. Even if they did need up together in the end.

Katniss quickly jumped out of the water and ran back into the forest, as good as she can with her burns.

"I don't understand how she can do it," Hope said. "She has burns on her leg and yet she still manages to run around."

"This is a game were one wrong thing can kill you," Hunter answered his sister. "She has to pull through the pain or-"

"Or die. I get it Hunter."

Hunter rolled his eyes at his sister. "Besides Hope. If the pain gets too much, I would just go back up in a tree. We haven't seen anyone else climb yet and mom has done it most her life. It would probably be the safest place for her."

Katniss seemed to think the same as Hunter because she stopped and started to climb up a tree - which got Hope a 'told-you-so' look and made her roll her eyes at her brother.

Katniss was about half way up the tree when the Career's and Peeta finally reached her.

"Love to see what these idiots do now." Tessa crossed her arms.

Cato started to climb the tree, going after Katniss, and as they watched this, Finnick laughed.

"He can't even climb a tree. I bet he is going to die soon."

Haymitch looked at Finnick with a raised eyebrow, before taking a drink.

"It's a good thing these people are dead," Tessa told Finnick. "Because if not, _you _would be dead right now."

After Cato fell, Glimmer pulled out a bow and arrow. The same bow and arrow from the Cornucopia.

"Seriously?!" Hope glared at the screen. "Out of all the people to get the bow and arrows, it had to be the Barbie doll?!"

"Hope." Tess leaned forward, looking at Hope. "It is only a bow and arrow."

"Shut up Tessa." Hope snapped. She really wasn't in the mood.

When the Career's finally become smart enough and realized that they couldn't reach Katniss, Peeta told them all that they should set up camp. After all, she can't stay up there forever.

"I'm starting to think Peeta isn't really on their team." Tessa said.

"Really?" Hunter rolled his eyes. "Of course he isn't really on their team."

"And how do you know that?"

"Because they, as Haymitch put it, the star-crossed lovers. They aren't going to sell that idea if Peeta joins the Career's at the very start."

"So. This is all part of a bigger plan?" Finnick asked.

"Of course."

Tessa just crossed her arms and mumbled, "Stupid Mr. Know it all."

Up in the tree, they watched as Katniss looked at her burn - making Hope hid her face in Finnick's shoulder and Tessa to close her eyes.

"I can feel that." Finnick flinched.

"Wouldn't now be one of those moments where you would get some sponsors to help?" Hope asked, turning to Haymitch.

"Hold on sweetheart." Haymitch mumbled into his bottle.

And at that second, a little gift came out of the sky and landed in front of Katniss. When she opened it, the teens could see what it is. Burn medicine for her leg.

Haymitch turned to Hope and smirked.

"Whatever Haymitch."

Night fell and all the Career's were asleep, besides whoever was keeping watch., when suddenly, a little noise was heard and Katniss woke up.

"What the hell is that?" Finnick asked.

Katniss looked around and saw, in the tree next to her, Rue. And she was pointing to the nest above Katniss.

"What is that?" Hope asked Haymitch.

"Tracker Jacker nest." Haymitch answered as if it was nothing.

"Tracker Wacker- what?" Finnick raised an eyebrow.

"Tracker Jackers." Haymitch looked at Finnick. "They were made by the Capitol. They are genetically engineered wasps."

"So what do they do?" Hunter asked.

"Once they make a person their target, they will follow them anywhere. They cause really bad hallucinations, but several stings will kill you."

"Oh, so nothing to worry about then." Tessa said sarcastically.

Music started to play just as the teens watched Katniss sawing at the branch that the nest was hanging from, and the death count showed that no one dead. Again.

Just as _The Arena, Day Five _faded across the screen, the tracker jacker nest was almost ready to fall.

"So what. She is going to drop the nest down on them?" Finnick asked.

"But dad is done there." said Hope.

"As bad as it sounds, I really don't think that she cares at the moment." Tessa said.

As Katniss was sawing away at the nest, and just before it fell, some Tracker Jackers flew up and stung her.

"As if this couldn't get any worse." Hunter put his head in his hands and Hope leaned more on Finnick, hiding her face.

Finally, the nest fell on the ground, where all the Careers and Peeta were. With a bang, the nest cracked open and the tracker jackers started to attack.

Everyone ran off in different directions and Peeta made it away, which the teens are happy for, even if they didn't know what he was up to. But, the other Career's also made it away.

Besides Glimmer and the female from District Four.

The teens watch as they screamed and fell to the ground. Crying out for someone to help them. But no one came and soon, they were on the ground. Dead.

"You know," Tessa started. "I don't like Glimmer, but that has to be a pretty painful way to die."

"I think almost any way to die in these games is a pretty painful way to die." Hunter told her, and Tessa had no comment.

Katniss stumbled over to Glimmer and pulled the bow and arrow out of her hand, making the teens flinched at the sound of her fingers cracking.

Katniss looked around and, all of a sudden, Peeta came out of nowhere.

"What is he doing?" Finnick raised an eyebrow.

"I'm hoping he is going to help her." Hope said, even though she knew that her father would never do anything to hurt her mother.

Just then, the teens saw Cato come onto the screen, Peeta sent Katniss away and he also got out of there.

"He was telling her to run around." Hunter sighed, letting out a breath.

For some reason, Hunter felt like his father was keeping something from him and Hope, and it's not just because of these games or tapes. Hunter always felt this way, but he never asked about it. He knew that his father would tell them when he was ready.

_Maybe._

The teens watched as Katniss stumbled around the forest, looking dazed and having to hold onto a tree in order to get anywhere.

"So, she is seeing hallucinations right now?" Hope asked Haymitch, who nodded.

"I never did ask what she saw, but who really knows. She probably can't even remember half the things she saw."

Finally, just as the anthem starts to play, Katniss falls to the ground, losing consciousness.

"I don't know if the fact that she is now asleep is good or bad." said Tessa.

The only ones that died that day was Glimmer and District four's female. But still, it meant that there was only ten people left now, but on the other hand, they still had twelve days to go.

_The Arena, Day Six_ came up and it was the shortest day yet.

It mostly just changed between different tributes, walking around in the forest, trying to stay alive.

But, at one point, the teens did see something that made them smile.

Sometime in the morning, Rue came over to Katniss and started to, by the looks of it, take care of her.

"At least someone is taking care of her." Hope sighed.

They didn't say it, but they all knew that if Rue didn't come along, Katniss probably wouldn't have made it.

All and all, by the end of day six, no tributes were killed.

_The Arena, Day Seven_. This was really getting long. This tape felt like the longest one yet, and they were still two days away from being _halfway_ done.

"This tape feels so much longer then the other four." Finnick leaned his head on the couch.

"That's because you are all waiting." Haymitch said.

Tessa raised an eyebrow. "Waiting for this to be over? Yeah, we are. Be we were like that for the past tapes too."

"No. You are waiting for it to happen. You are waiting to see how they both made it out live. Just watch and don't think about it."

_Easy for you to say_. Hope thought. _You know._

However, Katniss did wake up, with Rue next to her.

"At least she now has Rue and doesn't have to be alone." said Hunter.

They both spent the day hunting, well Katniss went hunting, and looking for water. It isn't long until it was dark and both Katniss and Rue were up in a tree, sleeping, after they saw that no tributes died that day.

"No tributes are dead? Again?" Tessa sighed loudly.

"Normally Tessa, that's a good thing." Finnick said.

"Yes, but I want this god damn tape to be over already." Tessa crossed her arms.

While Rue was sound asleep, Katniss was still awake, looking up in the sky with a look on her face. The same look that got the teens to start watching the tapes. The same look, but on a different face.

"Oh look, Aunt Katniss has an idea." Finnick smirked.

"How do you know?" asked Hope.

"Because she has the same look on her face as you did when we started watching the tapes." Tessa told her, also smirking.

Hope just rolled her eyes, but had a small smile on her face. "Whatever."

On _day eight_, both Katniss and Rue woke up to the sound of a cannon going off.

"There's another one." Tessa said softly.

They then listen as Katniss explains her plan to Rue.

"It sounds like a good plan." Hunter nodded his head.

"Yeah, if everything goes as plan." said Finnick.

"And it will."

"Really Hunter? When have any of our plans worked?" Finnick raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm actually surprised this one is working out so good."

"But that's us. I'm talking about our parents." Hunter said.

"Our plans don't work, do you really think our parents did?"

"What are Mockingjays?" Hope asked Haymitch after her mother and Rue started to talk about them and Rue did a little four note tune, which Hope could swear she heard somewhere before.

"It's a bird. They were made by mistake because the Capitol-"

"Surprise." Finnick mumbled.

"Made what was called a Jabberjay. They wanted to get rid of them so the let them out in the wild. But, they mated with the mockingbird. Making the Mockingjay."

"But, what are they for?" Tessa asked. "The Jabberjays?"

Haymitch sighed. "Really, they were for memorizing entire conversations and repeating them back at the Capitol in the Dark Days. When people found out about them, they started feeding them lies. When the Capitol found out about the lies, they stopped using them. They tried to get rid of all of them, but it didn't really work. Really, they just ended up making another different bird, Mockingjays."

After listening to Katniss and Rue going over their plan one more time, Katniss made her way to the Career's camp while Rue started a fire to get them away.

"I have a very bad feeling about this." Hope said softly.

When Katniss got to the camp, she hid in the brushes, sizing everything up. She saw the boy from District Three, standing guard by a pyramid of supplies.

"Enough supplies." Finnick glared at the screen.

"How the hell is mom getting rid of all that?" Hunter asked, confused. He had that look on his face, like he was trying to figure out what Katniss was going to do.

Then, suddenly, Foxface came out of nowhere and carefully made her way towards the pyramid, stealing some food.

"Why is she-"

"Of course!" Hunter cut Finnick off. "Mines!"

Tessa, along with Finnick and Hope, looked at Hunter confused. "Come again?"

"They planted mines around the supplies so no one could get it." Hunter explained.

"Mines?!" Finnick's eyes widen. "Where the hell did they get mines too?"

"This is the Hunger Games Finn," Tessa rolled her eyes. "Anything could happen."

Taking out her bow and arrow, Katniss aimed it at a bag of apples hanging at the top. She shot an arrow through the net and the apples fall down the pyramid, trigger the mines that were set around.

Hope gasped as she hid into Finnick, who started to rub circles on her arm again.

"Is she okay?" Tessa asked Haymitch.

"Of course. She makes it out doesn't she."

"That's not what I was talking about." Tessa glared.

Haymitch sighed. "Yes. She is fine. She went deaf in her left ear, but other than that she was fine."

"That's the word I would use too after I got blown off my feet," Finnick grumbled. "_Fine._"

Even though she just got blown off her feet, Katniss quickly crawled under a bush just as the Career's arrived.

That's when the teens realized that Peeta wasn't with them.

"Where's dad?" Hunter asked Haymitch, who just took a drink.

"We'll see in a few."

They teens knew that Haymitch was now starting to get drunk, but didn't say anything. This was Haymitch after all. No one could cut him off.

Cato was so furious that he killed the District three boy, breaking his neck with his bare hands.

"I can do that too." Finnick said, trying to make the mood lighter.

It didn't work.

The anthem started and the death count let everyone know that the male from District three and the male from District ten were dead.

"Sixteen dead." Hunter sighed. "Eight more to go."

Katniss closed her eyes and spent the night under the bush.

When she woke up on _Day nine_, the teens could tell by the look on her face that she was still deaf in her left ear. But, she made her way back to the spot where her and Rue were meeting up, only to see that Rue wasn't there.

"I knew I had a bad feeling about this." said Hope, tensing up.

"It may be nothing," Tessa said. "She may still be on her way back."

"After all night?"

"Maybe she slept in a tree or something and was late getting up."

Hope didn't saw anything but she knew what everyone was thinking, even Tessa.

No one sleeps in in these games.

Katniss climbed up in a tree and waited for Rue to come back.

However, by late afternoon, Katniss jumped out of the tree and started to look for Rue when she didn't come back.

"I really don't like this." Hope mumbled.

"Hope. We don't even know if anything is going to happen yet." Hunter told his sister, even though he didn't believe his own words.

He knew his sister better than anyone and when she got a feeling that something _really _bad was going to happen, it normally did.

After walking through the forest for some time with no sign of Rue, Katniss eventually heard Rue's four note tune coming from the mockingjays

Finnick smiled at Hope. "See. Everything is fine."

Then, she heard a scream and Finnick's face fell.

"Or not." He said in a low voice as Hope tensed up next to him and everyone stared at the screen.

Katniss ran towards the scream and found Rue on the ground, captured in a net by Marvel.

The teens had no time to react as Marvel took his spear and tossed it at Rue, the spear going right through her abdomen.

Immediately, Katniss took an arrow and shot it at his neck before running over to Rue and freeing her from the net.

No one said anything. They couldn't. They couldn't speak at that moment.

They never knew Rue, but they knew that she did not need to die. Not like this.

And it wasn't even Marvel the teens were angry at. It was the Capitol.

The Capitol are the ones you came up with the stupid idea to have kids kill each other. And now, because of that, little Rue was gone.

The teens listen and watched as Katniss held Rue and sings to her until she is dead.

Hope and Hunter freeze when they hear the song.

It's the some song that their mother would sing to them where they were little and couldn't stop crying. The same song that they loved so much growing up, was the same song that was the last thing Rue even heard.

No one said anything as Katniss arranged wild flowers around the body. Then, she stood up and kissed her three fingers, holding them to the sky before walking away.

"Haymitch," Hope said softly. "What does this mean?"

She didn't have to explain what she meant, Haymitch knew. After all, she was Peeta;s and Katniss' kid.

"It means, the Capitol is not to happy with the Girl on Fire." Haymitch told them, standing up. "I need some more liquor."

Haymitch then turned and made his way down to the basement cellar.

As _The Arena, Day Nine _came to an end, the teens got this haunting feeling. Almost like, the war had just started.

There were six people left in the games. Clove, Thresh, Foxface, Cato, Katniss and Peeta. They all knew who made it out alive and who didn't.

But, this game was turning out to be nothing like the other four games they watched. And they were starting to think that it wasn't a coincidence that both Katniss and Peeta made it out alive.

After all, why would President Snow let someone he hates out of the games?

All they did know was, nine days down, nine more to go.

* * *

**Holy. 6,285 words.**

**This chapter KILLED me, and I'm not sure if I'm still 100% happy with it. I may come back to it and fix it. But, I hope you all enjoy it! Also, I didn't plan to put the 74th games in two parts, but I have to.**

*****THERE WILL BE NO CHAPTER ON JULY 8th AND 15th. I am going to Switzerland, Italy and France this Saturday! I will be back updating on July 22nd. :)**

**Question: How many of my readers are from ****Switzerland, Italy and France?**

******Now, I need to get to bed. I start my summer job tomorrow at 8:30am and it's already 11:50pm.**

******Love you all to the moon and back, xox3**

******P.S: HAPPY CANADA DAY TO ALL MY CANADIAN READERS!**


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